The Puzzle Master
by Little Miss Jigsaw
Summary: It was a normal night. Then the phone calls came. Now time is running out for one little girl, a teenager, and three women. Can The CSIs find their loved ones in time? Or will they be found dead, in the awful ways their attacker has promised? PLEASE R&R!
1. Phone Calls and Crime Scenes

The Puzzle-Master

Prologue:

It was on what had started out as a perfectly normal night, for the graveyard shift, that the worlds of seven people came crashing down around them. Each received a phone call that would be the start of a long and terrible ordeal. The start of something that would scar all of them, and their loved ones, for ever.

And it was all as the man who called himself "The Puzzle master" had planned.

Chapter One: Phone Calls and Crime Scenes

Gil Grissom sat at his desk, flipping through pointless paper after pointless paper. He wasn't reading them though... He wasn't even looking at them. He was watching Sara Sidle. Even after so long of having a concealed relationship, she still captivated him. Not to mention, the rather revealing dress she had worn for Nick's birthday party... She still hadn't changed out of it yet.  
He tore his eyes away from the woman, and checked his watch, almost at the exact same time as Sara looked at hers. They were both expecting a phone call. And both from the same person. Their daughter. Eight-year-old Summer Sidle Grissom. But that wasn't what anyone in the lab knew her as. They all knew her as Summer Sidle, Sara's daughter, who's father was still unknown. 

Well, to some it was unknown... Grissom was sure that some of them had guessed. She had her mother's brown hair, and gap-toothed grin, but she had her father's curly hair, blue eyes, and love of bugs.Grissom felt that the bugs was the major give away, rather than anything looks-wise. One thing she got from both was her seriousness. Neither had ever seen a little girl as determined, and serious, as Summer was. Being summer time, the girl stayed at home alone at night. She called both of her parents every night at nine-thirty sharp, right before she went to bed.

Grissom watched as the time switched from nine-twenty-nine, to nine-thirty. And not ten seconds had passed before both of their cell phones rang. Before answering hers, Sara slipped into Grissom's office, and shut the door behind her.

"Hey Kiddo," said Grissom, answering his phone.

"Hi Sweetie," said Sara, answering her's.

The vioce that answered was that of their daughter, but it wasn't the same sleepy yet cheerful tone they normally got. No, the voice that spoke was confused, and terrifed... And she was crying. "Mama, Daddy!" she sobbed, "T-there wa- was a man i-in the closet an-and he g-got me... He's sc-scaring me, Daddy..." Even when she was in danger, Summer still looked to her father to get rid of the boogey men

-------------------------

Catherine Willows Brown sat next to her husband, Warrick Brown, as they went over evidence from a robbery case. They'd been married two years now. Warrick had divorced his wife, after he'd discovered that she was cheating on him. Not long after, he'd started dating Catherine. When they'd gotten married Lindsay had already accepted Warrick as part of the family, thank goodness. And now, she went so far as to call him dad. When she was mad, she went used his first name, but then, and only then. And Warrick returned the favor, by referring to Lindsay as his daughter. Now, she was just about ready to leave home, for college, and had spent most of what summer had passed fretting over what would happen if she didn't get accepted into any of the schools she's applied in.

It was Catherine's phone that rang. "Willows," she said, automatically when she answered it. Using her old name when answering her phone was a habit she'd never gotten out of.

"Mom?" said a shaky voice, "Is dad there?"

"Yeah he is, honey, what's wrong?" Warrick's head snapped up, and he looked at his wife, silently asking what was up.

"Will you put the phone on speaker, please?" Lindsay's voice was threatening to turn into sobs with every word. But Catherine did as she asked. "Okay, Lindsay, what's wrong?"

"He told me to tell you that you have- Ow! I'm listening!- that you have forty eight hours before he moves us... Mom, Dad... I'm scared..."

With that, the line went dead, leaving husband and wife with rising feelings of panic.

---------------------------

Greg Sanders, a CSI who was still more at home in his lab than in the field, could barely hear anything over his music, and that was the way he wanted it. Lets see anyone be able to get his attention over the music of Marilyn Manson playing at full blast. His reason for not wanting to be bothered: Her. "Her" was Elizabeth Markay, his girlfriend. They'd had a fight that morning, that Greg didn't even want to remember. She wasn't happy with him always being home (and asleep) during the day, and gone at night. But there was no way he was changing shedules. That meant leaving his friends in the graveyard shift. Sure, he'd see them now and then, but they were the group that he enjoyed working with. Beth had known that when they'd started dating.

Yet somehow, over hs music, he heard his phone ring. Maybe because he'd been secretly hoping Elizabeth would call.

"Sanders,"

"Hello Mr. Sanders," said a strange voice, "I have one thing to tell you: If you want to see Elizabeth alive again, I suggest you hurry home, and start following the evidence."

"Who is this?" Greg asked, worry already creeping into his voice.

"Someone who has no problems killing people Mr. Sanders. Hurry. Elizabeth only has so much time."

The line went dead, leaving Greg confused.

-----------------------

Nick Stokes leaned against a wall, talking with his long-time girlfriend, Susan Goldsmith, on the phone. He laughed at her overly apologetic speech for not making it to the party his friends had thrown for him, and waved at Brass, as he walked by and went into his office.

"Who's there?" Nick heard Susan ask.

"Sue? You alright?" Nick asked.

But Susan didn't hear him. "Who are you? What're you doing here?" Susan's voice was getting more and more frightened sounding by the second, "Stay away from me... Get back!" There was a loud clatter that Nick assumed was the phone falling to the floor, "Leave me alone!" Susan screamed, "Nicky, help me!"

Thuds and crashes ensued, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, then all was silent. Then came the sounds of footsteps, and someone picked up the phone, as Nick listened, frozen in shock.

"Yes Nicky," said a man's voice, "Help dear little Susan. Better hurry."

The phone went dead, and Nick would only stand there, still trying to process what he had just heard. His mind was refusing to believe it. 

-----------------------

Jim Brass slumped back in his chair, rubbing the sides of his head. He had one hell of a headache, and was tired to boot. Sighing, he reached over his desk, and hit the playback buttonon the phone to listen to the messages that had been left on it. The first several were pointless, not worth remembering. But the last. That one got his attention.

"Dad?" said a frightened, and confused voice, "It's Ellie... please pick up... I.. I need help. I don't know where I am... There's a little girl here, who says her name is Summer... She's hurt-" Ellie was interupted by a gruff male voice.

"Alright, time's up!"

There were sounds of a brief struggle, before Brass heard a little girl's scream, and Ellie manage a last "Dad, hurry!"

Then the message ended. 

-------------------------

All of them tried to leave the building at almost the same time, which ended in several collisions, and several unintentional rude remarks. But they were quick to get back on their way, none stopped to give any sort of explanation to the people who tried to ask them what was going on. 

There was too much at stake to let themselves be slowed down.

--------------------------

The scene that greeted Sara and Grissom when they arrived at their home wasn't a good one. Not a good one at all. The front door hung open, and the living room was a mess. There were small bloody foot prints on the floor, most of them stopped briefly under things, like the coffee table, or behind a chair. Summer had tried to hide from her attacker. All CSI instincts went out the window, for Sara. She ran down the hall towards her daughter's bedroom, not caring what evidence she destroyed in the process. The CSI in Grissom held him back for only a split second. Then he was running after Sara.

Their daughter's room was was worse than the living room. Things were knocked over, broken, or torn. And there was a small pool of blood on the floor. The little foot prints led away from that. The closet door was also thrown open, and many of Summer's clothes had been taken off their hangers, and tossed in the floor, probably to make room for whoever had taken her. 

Sara turned to Grissom, lips trembling, eyes clouding over with tears. She crossed the small distance between them, and hugged him tightly. "Why Summer?" she sobbed into his chest, "Why our little girl?"

"I don't know, Honey," said Grissom, returning the hug, "But we're damn sure going to find out."

-------------------------

Warrick gripped a pen so tightly that it snapped in half. While he was trying to keep his anger in check, Catherine was panicking.

"Someone's got my-..._Our _daughter!" she repeated," slamming clenched fist down onto the table, "She could be hurt... or dead... Or someone could be... Oh, god... Lindsay..."

Warrick embraced her, hoping to calm her down, "We'll find her Cath," He said, planting a kiss on top of her head, "We'll find her."

They had found the inside of their home in shambles. Broken glass everywhere, and various objects looked like they had been thrown. Lindsay had fought back at least. Kitchen knives had been thrown as well, and one had managed to stab into the wall, and stay there. There was the barest amount of blood there, which meant that she had nicked her attacker. The CSI in Warrick was taking over again, as he took a close look at the area... His mind played out possible ways the perp. had gotten in. And also the whys...

The whys that he could think of weren't comforting...

------------------------

Brass knew Ellie had a place she stayed in when she was in Vegas, and also knew that she had been in Vegas, just the day before. She had graced him with a brief visit, to tell him she would be there for two weeks. Her place was where he had headed. The place was a mess. That was expected. This was Ellie, after all. But the blood wasn't expected. A blood smear on the wall, and a handprint. A broken bottle lay on the floor, the sharp ends were bloodied. Probably the thing that had done the damage. Years of police work meant he knew better than to touch anything. But that didn't stop him from checking every room for Ellie. But she wasn't there.

Brass took a deep breath, and told himself to keep calm... There was only one thing he could do. Get back to the lab, and get the CSIs. They were the best, they'd find Ellie.

--------------------------

Greg walked out of his trashed apartment, feeling as if someone had just shot him full of a rather powerful numbing agent. Bedroom and kitchen, torn up. Elizabeth, gone. No other sign of her than the mess that had been left in the place. He barely knew he was climbing back into his car, and going back to the PD, and his lab. All he was remembering the last things he and Beth had said to eachother that morning.

_"Greg, I love you, but I'm getting tired of never seeing you anymore! You're gone all night, you sleep all day, I'm practically living by myself here!"_

"I'm not changing shifts, Elizabeth. Graveyard's the shift I started on, practically the only friends I have work it, and day shift just doesn't feel right."

_"You said four months ago that you would think about switching, Greg... What happened to that?"_

"The serial killer that started going after cops, Beth. That's what. And you know what, we still haven't solved that one."

"I don't give a damn about what cases you've solved, or haven't solved. I want you to start being around for me!"

"I have to go... Need some sleep, otherwise, I'll wake up late for work..."

He had left her standing in the living room after that. When he'd gotten up for work, she was asleep on the couch, a book held in her hand, that had been on the verge of falling.

"Hey, Greg!" Greg turned to see a panicked looking Brass heading for him, "Where's Grissom? We've got a case."

---------------------------

"Susan!" Nick shouted, skidding into his apartment, "Susan, answer me, please!" He came to a halt in the kitchen "Susan, baby, where are you!"

A search of the place told him only one thing. Susan was gone, and it wasn't by choice. He knew better than to touch anything, so he went back to the lab, both hands balled up into fists. He was a Texas boy with a temper, and who ever had Susan was going to find that out the hard way. The painful way. 

"Grissom!" He shouted, when he got to the CSI lab, "I'm gonna need some help!"

"What for?" a sad voice asked behind him, and Nick spun around, "We've already got a problem of our own."

Grissom stood there, an arm around Sara. Were Nick not angry, and worried, he would have noticed that. Sara's eyes were red, and her cheeks were tear-stained. Grissom's eyes were rather red as well, and filled with worry as well, "Summer's gone, Nick."

"So is Susan."

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	2. Investigations and Letters

Posting Chappie 2 to keep you happy!

Hope ya'll enjoy it.

And remember! Reviews!

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Chapter Two: Investigation and Letters

"So, what's going on?" Warrick asked, strangely calm.

"Ellie, Susan, Beth, Summer, and Lindsay are all gone," said Brass, "What about you Gil? Who'd he take from you?"

"Summer..." Grissom whispered so quietly that no one but Sara was sure he'd even said it..."that's who..."

"Alright, so can we assume that it was the same guy who got all of them?" Greg asked, "If they all went missing today, and we all got a phone call..."

"Ellie said something about Summer being with her," said Brass, "said she was..." He let his voice trail off, with a glance a Sara.

"Said what?" both Grissom and Sara demanded.

"She said the girl was hurt..." Brass finished. "She didn't say how bad."

Sara bit her lip, and turned towards Grissom, who embraced her. Her words didn't even register to the group then, "why our little girl, Grissom?"

"I don't care why he did it," Catherine spat, "I just want my daughter back... And soon."

"So," said Nick, "We investigate all of the scenes... There's got to be something that can lead us to him. I mean, no one can kidnap five people without leaving something behind..."

"Nick's right," said Grissom, over Sara's head, "We need to move, fast."

----------------------------

It was Summer's scene that was investigated first. Sara knew the looks she was getting when she and Grissom took Nick, and Catherine to their home... But she ignored them. They took a sample of the blood, so they could find out whose it was... Be it Summer's or her assailant's. They dusted for prints, in Summer's room, and found one on the inside of the closet, that was too big to be Summer's, and another on a bloodied piece of glass from a lamp. Other than that, there wasn't much. The four CSIs stood there looking at the room. Sara could almost envision what happened.

_It was almost time for bed, and Summer walked into her bedroom to start getting ready, when the closet door was flung open, and a strange man grabbed for her. She dodged, and he hit the lamp instead, and broke it. He grabbed a piece of it, and cut her. The girl slipped and fell. She stayed on the floor long enough for a small pool of blood to form. Then she was up again, running. Leaving a trail of bloody foot prints behind her._

Sara unconciously turned towards the living room. She could almost see Summer, running by.

_Summer ran and dove under a coffee table to get away from the man. Then she wriggled out, and hid behind a chair. The man knocked things over as he tried to catch his prey. Then he finally got hold of her, and drug her, kicking and screaming, out the front door._

"Hey, Guys, look at this," said Nick, picking something out of the fold of the blankets on the bed. It was an envelope. Nick opened it carefully, and read it aloud.

_Gil, Sara,_

Surely you are wondering where Summer is. I assure you, your daughter is alive. Yes, I know she is Gil's child. You may be able to hide that fact from your coworkers, but anyone who looks close enough can see you in her.

_You must be wondering why, as well. I'll answer that question... The reason is I want to test your skills. If you can follow the clues, you get little Summer back... If you can't, then I'm afraid you'll be finding her body, along with the others, at the foot of the mountains. And I don't think Sara would care to see what had been done to Summer... All those cases of sexual abuse she deals with would look like nothing- _

Nick paused a moment, and took a breath. He noticed Sara was chewing on her lip, something she did when trying to keep herself under control. And Grissom was staring straight ahead, avoiding meeting anyone's gaze. But it was pointless, everyone knew he was taking it as hard as Sara. Nick himself was having trouble... He had been "Uncle Nicky" to Summer... He continued reading.

_will look like nothing compared to what will be done to Summer... I have three companions who would love to get to know her better._

You have until Saturday at 10 p.m. before I move Summer, and everyone else to a new location, and you will have to try again.

Puzzle Master

Catherine was thankful that the note ended. She wasn't sure that she could hear anymore. And it wasn't even her daughter that was being talked about. She looked in Grissom and Sara's direction, and couldn't help but look with even more pity at Grissom, than she had before. Because now she knew, it was his daughter that was missing too.

"If he does it," Sara spat, "I'll kill him... I'll hunt him down, and I'll kill him..." she looked up at Grissom, "If we don't find our baby, I'll..." She stopped there, and just stared angrily at nothing.

----------------------

Across town, in Ellie's place, Warrick, Greg, and Brass found a similiar note...

_Detective Brass,_

I understand you're worried about Ellie, after all, she is your daughter... Or is she? I'd bet anything, that she's not. That you don't really have a daughter... And if you and your CSIs aren't smart enough, you won't even have Ellie anymore.

If you can't find her in time, she'll be found dead of an overdose on every drug imaginable. It won't be any less than what she deserves, after being a crack whore in Los Angeles. And just to give you a little more reason to find her: she was cleaning her act up, for you. Hoped that maybe you'd forgive her for messing up her life, and yours. Hoped maybe you'd give her a second chance.

Guess she won't get that second chance now, unless you give it to her, Jim. You and your team are the only ones who can save Ellie, and the other four.

But, tick-tock says the clock. you have until Saturday at 10 pm untill she and the others are moved to a new location. Find the clues I've hidden... Remember, when you can't find something... It's almost always staring you right in the face.

Puzzle Master

Brass resisted the urge to crumple the letter... He knew it was evidence, that it might help find the missing people... Might help find Ellie. Warrick and Greg scoured the place for any sort of evidence as to where Ellie might've been taken. So far, they were finding nothing. A line from the note came to mind _When you can't find something it's almost always staring you right in the face._ He thought on that for a second, and turned to his right. There was a small oval mirror, just big enough to reflect his face.

Wondering if it could have been that easy, he grabbed the edges of it, and pulled it off the wall. Nothing on the wall, but taped to the back was a small plastic back, filled with a black substance. Felt like sand when Brass pulled the back off.

"Hey guys, Got something." 

Warrick and Greg came into the room, and checked it out. "I'll get it back to the lab," said Greg, "Find out what it is... Then, we need to get to Susan, Lindsay, and Beth..."

Brass and Warrick nodded. Indeed they did. "And call Grissom. The others should probably know to look for something like this," said Warrick.

------------------------

At Nick's they found no note... Only one of Susan's drawings stuffed in an envelope. The drawing was one that had always depressed her, and Nick. A nightmare she'd had, of a woman (herself, she always said) locked in a dark room, with light filtering in through a small hole in the wall. Drawing what she saw in dreams or nightmares, had been a long time hobby of her's. The nightmare drawings went into a box, beneath the bed, where they wouldn't be seen.

Suddenly getting an idea. Nick went after the box, that Susan called her "box of nightmares", and began to dig through it. He found two drawings that weren't Susan's... They weren't her style. No, these were crude, drawings, done by an amatuer, at the most. But they were still frightening. One was of three women, and two girls, one rather small, the other looked more like a teen, huddled in the corner of what appeared to be a factory. There was a name scribbled over each head. _Susan, Ellie, Beth, Lindsay, Summer. _The other was a roughly drawn banner. Written on it was _Show it to the others. _

So he did...He showed it to Catherine, Sara, and Grissom. It didn't help any. It didn't help Nick either. It only worsened matters for him. He leaned against the kitchen counter, looking at nothing in particular.

"Hey," said Sara, putting a hand on his shoulder, "How you holding up?"

"If I said I was doing fine, it would be a lie," Nick replied, "What about you? You're seeming awful calm, now, for a woman who's lost her daughter,"

" 'Now' is the key word, Nicky..." said Sara, "You saw me earlier... And when I heard her voice on the phone...When she sounded so scared. She said that the boogey man from her closet got her, and all I could remember was telling her before I left, that there was nothing to be afraid of, that there were no boogey men, hiding in her room, and she swore she had seen something... And I didn't believe her."

"it's not your fault, Sara," said Nick.

"I know..." Sara replied, "But I just can't help but think, 'what if?' What if I'd done what she had her daddy do, and check, just to make her feel better..." she sighed, "Anyway, What about you? What are you thinking about?"

"About what I was going to do when the shift ended..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small ring box, "I was going to do it this morning, but she was already at work... So I decided to wait until I got home. And my 'what if?' thought? What if I'd asked her this morning... We would have both taken the day off, gone to dinner, and she wouldn't have been at home, having to call, and apologize that she didn't make it to the party..."

"Guys," said Cathering, entering the room, "I think we're all done here... Brass called, said that he found some sort of black substance at Ellie's, and they took samples from the blood. Said to get what we have back to the lab, and leave it with Hodges, and then get to the last two scenes."

"Right," said Sara and Nick at the same time, "Let's go then."

---------------------------

The teams changed up a bit this time... To the Brown residence went Catherine, Warrick, Sara, and joining them was Sofia. While to the Sanders residence went Brass, Grissom, Nick, and Greg.

The Brown house was the same as Catherine and Warrick had left it, when they'd gone back to the lab. It was still a shock, seeing it like that. Warrick had been hoping it had been a nightmare, and that they would get there to find Lindsay sitting there, wondering why he and Catherine were home so early. But she wasn't. The place was still trashed, and Lindsay was still gone.

"Okay..." said Sara, "Let's get to work... We've got five people depending on us, so we have to do the best we can." She sounded like she was reminding herself of it, more than them.

But either way, they nodded, and went about collecting evidence. The back door was the point of entry, that much was obvious from the fact that it had been kicked in. There was a science book, lying on the living room floor. It had probably fallen there, since the pages were all crumpled. The flower vase that normally sat on the table in front of the couch was knocked over, and broken in half.

"So," said Catherine, "The door gets kicked down, and Lindsay drops her book. When she gets up, she knocks the vase over." she paused, and kneeled next to a pile of shattered glass, then pointed towards the nic-nac shelf, "She saw her attacker, and used the first thing she could reach as a weapon; the glass." She got up and went to the kitchen, "When she ran out of that, she went for the kitchen... " She opened the drawer that a 9 mm starfire handgun was normally kept in. It was gone, "She threw the knives, until she hit him, then went for the gun...He overpowered her, took the gun, and her."

"That does look like what happened," said Sofia, "What about what was found at the other scenes? The letters, and the clues... shouldn't something like that be here too?"

"We won't know," said Sara.

"If we don't look," Warrick comepleted. "Let's look then... I'm not sure if I want to find something or not..."

"If it'll help us find Lindsay, I want to find it," said Catherine.

They found an envelope taped to Lindsay's bedroom door. Warrick and Catherine hesitantly opened it, and read it.

_Catherine and Warrick,_

You would be proud of the way Lindsay fought before I managed to subdue her. Quite a little scapper. Beautiful too. It's really to bad I have my rules, about what's done to certain subjects. For example, it was really hard to pin something that would affect Cath the most... There are so many things, none of them that even I would do to such a gorgeous girl.

So, I had to look to Warrick for my answer. Remember Holly Gribbs, Warrick? If you don't find Lindsay in time, she will be shot, just the same as Holly was. But unlike Holly, she won't get to die, asleep in a hospital room. She'll get to suffer...

And then, you'll find her, just like you'll find the the others. Dead. 

_  
the Puzzle Master_

PS: One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish

------------------------------------

Greg's apartment was much the same as the others, Trashed, with no clues as to who had done it. The planted clue was found in on the balcony/patio, held down on the table by a small potted plant, that Greg said shouldn't have been there. It was a small square of paper. Written on it was

_The man who invented it doesn't want it. The man who buys it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it. What is it?_

"Oh great..." said Brass, "More riddles. And what's with the plant?"

"That's a Joshua tree," said Grissom, "Grows in Arizona and New Mexico for the most part. Some here in Nevada, and California."

"Hey, Griss, you're good with riddles, what's this one?" Greg asked.

"I'd need more time to think on it. In the meantime, here's one for you to think on; When you've got it, you want to share it, but if you share it, you haven't got it." Grissom replied.

"A secret," said Nick, "Need to get some new ones, Griss."

Grissom only shrugged, "Right... Well, we need to figure out why he put a Joshua tree here, and what's with the riddle. Then, we need to put everything together, and see if we can find out what they all mean."

"I have the feeling we aren't going to be sleeping for a while, Boys," said Brass, "so you'd better enjoy what rest you can get while Hodges is running the DNA, fingerprints, and that black stuff we found." 

"Somehow, I doubt that we'd want to sleep anyway, Brass," said Greg, "But we can try."

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Well?


	3. Memories

alrighty, chapter 3 for ya'lls enjoyment

remember the reviews!

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Chapter Three: Memories  
(Sue Me, Chasing Away the Boogey Man, Graveyard Troubles, Coming Home, Family Pillow Fight)

_Sue Me_

3 months prior to kidnapping

"Sue!" Nick shouted, "Sue! I'm home!"

"Nick Stokes!" his rather obviously southern girlfriend answered, "I have told you not to call me Sue!"

She stomped into the living room, in fake anger. "I swear, I've told ya a dozen times, Nicky."

"Whatever you say, Sue, Darlin' "

"Ooohhh, you are as bull-headed as those longhorn cows from the state you call home!"

"Oh?" said Nick, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her to him. He tucked her scarlet hair behind her ears, "If I remember correctly, Susan, you lived in Texas for awhile..."

"Yeah," said Susan, smirking at him, "But I'm originally from Louisianna. And, I'm not as bullheaded as some people I could mention."

"So I'm a slow learner," said Nick, his face barely inches from hers. "So _Sue _me."

"You big id-" Nick stopped whatever insult she'd been sure to give him with a kiss.

Present Day.

Nick sat in the lab, waiting as everyone else was... His mind had brought up that memory, since it had been the day he'd decided she was the one for him, beyond any shadow of a doubt. He'd been thinking it for a while. But that was the day he'd _known _it. And it was really a happy memory. They had many friendly banters like that. Many because of his never ending desire to call her Sue.

He'd eventually stopped, and only called her Sue when he wanted to annoy her, or when something was bothering him. Though she had never stopped calling him Nicky. Then again, he'd never asked her too. 

---------------------------

_Chasing Away the Boogey Man_

2 months prior to kidnapping.

"Daddy!" little Summer said, bare feet slapping on the hardwood floor of the hallway. She barrelled into her father before he even had time to reply to her. "Daddy, there's something in the closet!"

Grissom knelt down in front of the girl, "aren't you a little old to still be thinking there's something in your closet?" he asked, in a mock-serious tone.

"Maybe," she replied, rocking on her feet, "But there's still something there."

"And you didn't ask your mom to check it out? She's been here," Grissom asked with a sigh.

"Because, she thinks I miss things," said Sara, appearing in the hall. Summer nodded vigorously.

"Alright," said Grissom, "let's go then. But there's nothing there." Before he'd finished, Summer had hold of his hand and was leading him to her room.

A thorough search of the closet was enough to convince her. "See?" Grissom asked, "Nothing there." Summer looked properly ashamed for being so silly, and then went to Sara, for a goodnight hug, and kiss. Then it was Grissom's turn.

"Good night, Sweetie," said Sara, as she turned back to her, and Grissom's room.

"'Night, Mama." Summer replied, climbing into bed, "Night, Daddy."

"Good night, Lady Bug." said Grissom, following Sara, turning out the light.

Present Day

_That was the last time she ever asked me to check her room, _Grissom thought, staring ahead, _I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't stopped, and I had checked for her tonight before work... Would I have really found something? Or did he get in after Sara and I left? _ It almost made him wish he hadn't told her she was too old to still believe there was something in her room, that she had kept asking him to check... just on the off-chance that he would have found something.

But, "what if" thoughts wouldn't help him and Sara find her. Strange to think that when he'd found out Sara was pregnant, he hadn't been overjoyed... But when Summer'd been born, that had been forgotten... She was his little Lady Bug. And there wasn't anything that he wouldn't have given to get her back.

-----------------------------

_Graveyard Troubles_

4 months prior to kidnapping

Elizabeth suprised Greg, by showing up at the lab. It was a good natured visit. She got to meet his co-workers, and friends. Even made friends with Summer, who was there because school had closed that day, and Sara had been unable to find a babysitter.

Then she had asked Greg to switch shifts... Thankfully it hadn't been within earshot of the others.

"I... I'll think about it, Beth," Greg told her.

"What's there to think about?" Beth asked, "Either you will or you won't..."

"Beth, it's not that easy. I can't just up and switch. What about my team?"

"You're right..." she sighed, "I'm sorry. I know you're close to your team... But, at least think about it? Please?"

"I will. I'm not promising anything, but I'll think about it."

It was only a matter of hours later that the first in a long string of cop murders was commited, and the promise to think about switch comepletely left Greg Sanders' mind. Elizabeth knew better than to pressure him... Until she got tired of waiting. Then the requests had started again.

Present Day

Greg blocked any and all "what if I had switched" thoughts out of his head. They wouldn't help. He was in the lab, helping Hodges, to keep his mind off things. And so far, they weren't getting anything, from the fingerprints, anyway.

But, there was still a chance... If they could just find a match... Just find out who the guy was. However unlikely it was, he could still hope. He wanted to find Beth. No matter what. So, hold out hope, he would. Even if Grissom had said it looked like the prints had been planted. 

He always had been told he hoped for too much. But this was partially his fault. If he hadn't been so stubborn, Beth would be safe. _No... no "if"... no "what if"... Need positive thoughts. We'll find them. They'll be safe. She'll be safe. _

It was easier to think, than it was to believe.

-------------------------

_Coming home_

24 hours prior to kidnapping

"Hi Dad," said Ellie Brass, in a slightly embarrassed tone, to her father, who sat on the other side of his desk.

"Ellie," he said curtly, "What're you doing here?"

"I came to say that I'm coming home... I'm going to move here, to Vegas, permanently. "

"To do what? The same thing you do in L.A.?"

"Somehow, I knew that's what you'd think, " Ellie spat, "Always asssume the worst, don't you?"

"I didn't used to, Ellie. But after awhile, it got hard not to."

"For your information, Dad, I wasn't planning on it," said Ellie, "And what I really came to say is I'm sorry, okay?"

"For?" Brass asked, perfectly calm.

"For all the shit I've put you through, that's what!... You know, I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, you would be the one person who didn't believe I was nothing more than a whore!... Now I can see that I was wrong to have hoped that..." She stood up abruptly.

"Ellie, wait-"

"I'll be in Vegas the rest of the week, if you even care... Then I'm going back to L.A. to get my things. Here's the address." She threw a piece of paper she dug from her pocket on the desk, turned, and strode out.

Brass sighed. He always managed to mess things up with Ellie, no matter what... He'd have to go see her. That much he knew. But as for when, he didn't know. But it would have to be soon. Before his chance to fix things was gone. 

Present day

Like he had when Ellie had stormed out, Brass sighed. She was right, he always did assume the worst. But then, she always did the worst. She'd become just like her mother. Perhaps the only way she was similiar to Brass was in her stubborness. _Though, that's the only way she'd be similiar to me... _Brass thought, bitterly. As much as he hated to admit it, that note had been right. Ellie wasn't his. But that had never mattered to him, he loved her all the same.

Even when she had done what he saw as ruining her own life.

No... That note was wrong. Ellie _was _his daughter. It didn't matter if it was biological or not, she was his daughter, and he'd find her. 

------------------------------

_Family Pillow Fight_

6 months prior to kidnapping

Catherine was stretched out on the couch, enjoying her day off. Warrick was sound asleep in the reclining chair. Not much got done on days off. Work was enough, so what time off they got was spent at home, relaxing, be it through reading, watching TV, or a movie, or just being able to take a nap whenever they wanted to. 

The silence in the room was broken by the front door opening. In came seventeen-year-old Lindsay, school books in her arms. She took the load straight to her room, then came back in, "Why does he _always _fall asleep in that chair, Mom?" she asked, with a head jerk towards her step father.

Catherine did the best version of a shrug she could manage while lying down, "Who knows. You'd think he'd learn his lesson about that thing hurtin' his back if he sleeps there too long."

Lindsay grabbed the pillow that Catherine's feet were resting on, "Think he'll wake up if I chuck this at him?" she asked, then tossed the pillow, hitting Warrick square in the face.

There seemed to be no reaction from him, and Lindsay let out an overly dramatic sigh, "I tried," she said with a shrug, "That man could sleep through a tornado."

As Lindsay turned to head for her room, Catherine saw the pillow sailing through the air again, to hit the girl in the back. "I sleep through anything huh, Kid?" Warrick asked, amused, "I was awake the second you opened the door."

Again the pillow flew through the air, but this time it missed Warrick, and instead hit Catherine, who had been prepared to just go to sleep, and let the two have their fun. But then the pillow hit _her._ Then it was on.

They spent several minutes, just tossing random pillows at one another, laughing, and having a good time. It had been awhile, since they'd done anything like that... Just had fun together. It stuck in Catherine's mind, because that was the last day they'd done anything like that.

Work, as it always did, had gotten in the way after that.

Present day

The memory of the pillow fight cheered Catherine up some. Enough to allow herself a small smile at least. She glanced at Warrick, who looked as deep in thought as everyone else did. She wondered what memories their minds were dragging up. Were they good ones or bad? Were they helping to deal with the situation, or were they making things worse?

Her's had done both in a way.

"Hey guys," said Greg, poking his head out of the lab, "Got something you should see in here..."

Every head in the room snapped up, "What?" Catherine asked, getting to her feet.

"Just come here," said Greg.

--------------------------------


	4. Tests and Failures

Oooookay, chappie 4!

Oh, and I hope ya'll liked the memories chapter... I just couldn't get those out of my head, so I had to make a chapter dedicated to everyone's memories of their loved ones... I was going to have Sara be in Grissom's place, for remembering Summer though... But I thought in the end it might be better for it to be Grissom... Kinda show what his realtionship with Summer was like, and how much he loves her. 

anyway, chap 4. Enjoy, and REVIEW:p

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Chapter Four: Tests and Failures

"Okay," said Greg, "ran the blood at Grissom's. All I got was two partial matches-"

"Me and Sara?" said Grissom, and Greg looked at him as if he were someone else, "It's Summer's then..."

"Um... Yeah... actually. Wait... When... How...?"

"Stop gaping, Greg, all ya gotta do is look at the girl, " said Nick, "What else did you find?"

"The blood from Ellie's, and from the knife Lindsay threw are a match, but I can't tell you who it is. The prints? The prints are a match to six other cases... In New York, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, and Albuquerque..."

"Is that six other murders?" Warrick asked, looking confused.

"No," said Greg, "One person dead in New york, two in L.A., three in Phoenix, four in Dallas, five in Denver, and six in Albuquerque... This guy goes up one person in every city. Every victim has been female, no younger than five, and all were either girlfriends, wives, or daughters of CSIs, or Detectives, all from the nightshift. Clues and riddles were left, but none of them were found in time... With... With each case, they were given 48 hours to find the first location, then another 48 for the second... Each one was killed in a different way, depending on the victim, or their families. And all the bodies were left in an area designated by the suspect, with notes at each sight... 'you failed'..."

"I really wish you hadn't said that..." said Catherine.

"Believe me, Cath," said Greg, "so do I..."

"So, the guy's got a history..." said Grissom, "Is there any other evidence that they found, that might help?"

Greg shook his head, "No... Only evidence found was the clues to where the women were. Speaking of which, that black substance? It's ground burnt wood."

"Okay, " Sara chimed in, "We're looking for somewhere with burnt wood, and Joshua trees... any thoughts?"

"Yeah," said Brass, "But none of them near here."

"It might be some place like a factory," said Nick, "Remember that drawing I found?"

"Okay, so, where does that riddle fit in?" Greg wanted to know.

"And what about the 'red fish blue fish' thing?"

All of them shrugged. No one knew.

"Maybe some of our neighbors saw something?" Sara suggested, "It doesn't hurt to check."

"At four in the morning, yes it does," said Hodges, who had remained mercifully silent until then, "I don't think anyone would be too happy if you interupted their beauty sleep."

"Shut up, Hodges," Sara retorted. But then she added, "He's right though... It'll have to wait, as much as I hate to say it..."

"Okay... Anyone going home?" Brass asked.

"No," was the reply, from everyone else.

-------------------------------

Not one of them left that night... They stayed in the lab, talking. When the dayshift people arrived, the Graveyard crew was just leaving to go and question their neighbors. Each took care of their own.

Brass wasn't sure if anyone around Ellie's would have seen or heard anything, but it being an apartment building, it was possible. He knocked on the door of the apartment next to Ellie's, and waited somewhat impatiently for someone to answer.

The door was answered by a boy who couldn't have been more than seventeen. "Yeah?"

"I'm Captain Jim Brass with the Vegas PD.. Your parents home?"

"No," the kid replied, "They're gone for the weekend. Left this morning. Why? Did they do something?"

"No," Brass assured him, "I just wanted to know if they'd heard anything unusual last night."

"I did," said the boy, "Heard shouting, and glass breaking, but you hear that alot here." He must've seen something in Brass's expression that worried him, "Should I have reported it?"

"I don't know if there's anything you could have done. A girl went missing from next door last night. Do you know if they've got security camera's here?"

The boy shook his head, "They don't.. My dad's one of the managers, and he's always complaining about that."

"Right... Thanks for your time.." said Brass, disappointed. He turned, and walked down the hall. "Sorry, Sir!" the boy called before shutting the door again.

----------------------------------

"Hey! Josh! Open up!" Greg practically shouted, knocking on his friend's door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" a slightly muffled voice said from behind the door. The said door opened, to reveal a sleepy-looking, skinny, blonde man, of average height. "Greg? Dude, it's an hour before I'm supposed to be up..." he paused and looked at his friend for a moment, "What's wrong, Man?"

"Beth... She's gone..."

"Guess ya shoulda switched sh-"

"It wasn't by choice, Josh... She was kidnapped."

"Oh..." said Josh, "erm, that explains the noise..."

"What noise?"

"Well, heard someone knockin' on the door, and Beth shoutin' at 'em to leave. After awhile, the knockin' stopped...Then I heard her shoutin' again, and I figured you were home...Didn't see nothin' though"

Greg thought about retorting to that, but decided it was better to keep his mouth shut, "Alright... Thanks man... I'll probably be back sometime." Greg trudged dejectedly down the hall. So much for that idea.

Maybe Josh would remember something later.

-------------------------------

"So, you're sure you didn't see anything, Jackie?" Warrick asked the young girl, as Catherine talked with her parents.

Jackie nodded, "Lindsay just came over for a few minutes and said she'd help me with my summer school assignments at around 8, after she'd had time to unwind, but she never showed up, and I didn't get an answer on the phone, or when I went and knocked on the door. I figured you and Mrs. Brown had come home early and you had taken her somewhere... I guess I should have called and told you she was gone..."

"Not your fault Jackie. She came by around 4 right? I remember her saying she'd be right back around that time."

"Well, she came back by again, to tell me about helping with my work, since she forgot to the first time...That was at around 6."

"Thanks Jackie... Catherine, you done?"

Catherine nodded, and said to Jackie's parents, "Thanks for your time, Missy, Jason."

"So, what'd you find out?" She asked, as they left the house.

"Nothing much, other than that Lindsay was last seen at around six... Jackie said she came back for a few minutes, to say that she'd help her with her school assignments at 8..."

"But she never showed up," Catherine concluded, "So, she was taken between 6 and 8... I didn't get much from Missy or Jason... They just said they had told Lindsay she could come over for dinner if she liked. I asked them if they heard anything, but they said Jackie was watching tv all evening, so they couldn't have said what was from the tv, and what was from the house..."

"Wonder if everyone else is having such bad luck," Warrick sighed.

"I hope not... "

-------------------------------

"Well," Nick sighed to Sofia, "That was a bust. Whoever did this, you gotta give 'em a hand for being good about not being seen."

"I wouldn't say that's a good thing, but you're right... The guy's got talent..." Sofia paused a moment, then said, "You holdin' up okay, Nick?"

"Why does everyone ask _me _that?" Nick asked, "Greg's girl is missing too, Warrick, Cath, Brass, Grissom, and Sara all lost their daughters."

"Yeah, I know, but you're the only one I've seen to- What?" Sofia cut herself off midsentence.

" 'What' About?" Nick asked.

"Grissom doesn't have a daughter..." said Sofia, slowly.

"You've never actually looked at Summer Sidle, have you?" Nick asked with a shrug.

"I... well, I... No..." said Sofia, "But now that you mention it..."

The conversation was interupted when Nick's cell phone rang. "Stokes." Sofia listened carefully to his replies to whoever was on the other side. "Say what?... Well yeah you should call him!... Hodges, did you even call the others?... Good, now call-... I don't give a fuck if he's going to be mad at you! ... Yell at you? IDIOT, I'll YELL AT YOU! ... WHY? Hodges, she's his DAUGHTER! THAT'S WHY! ... Just call him ... If you haven't by the time I get there, I will be forced to hurt you." Nick angrily snapped his phone shut.

"What was that about?" Sofia asked.

"Hodges being an idiot."

"Why was he being an idiot?"

"A letter came from our perp... Says the deadline has been moved to 10 pm tonight, instead of tomorrow... He thought to call everyone else, and me, but he refused to call Griss and Sara, because Griss might get mad at him..." the bitterness in Nick's voice was appearent.

"Oh..." Sofia said, "I guess we better get back to the lab then... Fast..."

----------------------------------

"Well, I didn't hear anything dear, but my hearing isn't what it used to be," said old Mrs. Grant, "But you might ask Mr. Morris... He was working in his garden all night, so he might've seen something... But he won't be home until this evening..."

"Thank you for you're time, Mrs. Grant, and I'll be sure to ask him..." said a disappointed Sara. She turned and walked away, as Mrs. Grant closed the door of her home. "Anything?" she asked Grissom as she saw him walking away from Mr. Morris' home.

"No..." he said, "Nobody home..."

"Let's hope Mrs. Grant was right that he was outside all night, and that he saw something..."

"Someone had to've seen something, Sara... It's highly unlikely that nobody saw him... It would be hard to go unnoticed with a scared little girl, who's never been afraid to put up a fight before this. And I doubt that he'd have any easier of a time with the others..."

"You're right, as always..." Sara sighed, "You figured that riddle out yet?"

"You mean the 'the man who invented it doesn't want it, the man who buys it doesn't need it, the man who needs it doesn't know it' ?"

"Yeah..."

"In a way... I figured out what it means, but not how it ties in with the location... I think we'll need the last piece of the puzzle, first. The 'red fish blue fish' one."

"So what was the riddle?"

"A coffin." his cell phone rang, and as he answered it, Sara realized the answer made perfect sense. She turned her attention to Grissom's conversation. "Grissom... Hodges, what do you want? ... What d'you mean changed?... Yes, I'd like to know when! ...Tonight? You're sure? ... Fine. See if you can get any prints off of it... We'll be there in a few minutes..."

"What was that all about?" Sara asked as soon as he'd hung up the phone.

"We've got a problem... It seems the deadline has been moved to ten pm tonight, not tomorrow..."

Sara almost lost her temper upon hearing this, but she kept herself calm, amazingly enough, "Then let's get back to the lab... We have to hurry..."

------------------------------------

Chapter 5 coming soon. until then, let me know what you're thinking about this!


	5. The Missing Piece

chapter 5... And REVIEW people! Ya'll are slackin!

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Chapter Five: The Missing Piece

_Brass, Catherine, Greg, Sara, Nick, Grissom, Warrick,_

I have heard many say over the years that the Vegas crime lab solves cases that are rendered by many to be unsolvable.

We shall see if that is true, as many have rendered the six previous cases that I have been involved in unsolvable. They did awfully when it came to following my clues, and since I happen to know of your progress, I think you are doing well. Much better than any of the others did... Or maybe it's how strongly you feel about my captives that is allowing you to do so much better... I must admit, I had my doubts about the others... About how much they loved the people I'd taken... they didn't seem to try very hard. But then, they weren't as smart as you lot.

As a result of your undeniable skills for solving cases, your deadline has been moved from 10 pm Saturday night, to 10 pm tonight. Then I will move all five of the lovely ladies to a new location, and you will have another 24 hours to find them there. If you don't you can look for them Sunday morning at the foot of the mountains. 

_I do hope you succeed. They are such beautiful girls, and women, I'd hate to have to kill them._

Oh, and I never told Greg or Nick how they would find Beth and Susan.

_Greg, remember that explosion in the lab? Well, I'll do a little fireworks with Beth... Not enough to destroy her body, but enough to kill her beyond a shadow of a doubt._

Nick, take a look in Susan's "box of nightmares". Find the one picture that's missing, and you'll have you answer... 

_Here's to the Vegas Graveyard crew. And here's to hoping you're as good as smart as everyone thinks you are._

The Puzzle Master. 

-------------------------------

Nick didn't even have to go look to see what picture was missing... He knew the exact one that would be fitting of the area. The one with the woman, lying in the desert, and what appeared to be a board from a privacy fence buried in her chest, with another board nailed near the top, barbed wire twined around the crude cross, and wrapped around the hands, feet, and throat of the woman... Another that had always disturbed Nick. He'd asked Susan once, why she drew her nightmares, why she didn't just try to forget them, especially ones like that. And her reply had been; _I've tried that before. Tried to ignore 'em, forget 'em... But when I did that, they just kept comin' back... M' Gran'ma, she practiced Voodoo y'know, tol' me that if I didn't find a way to keep a constant reminder of 'em, I would keep having th' nightmares. So, I started drawing 'em... Then I put 'em in a box, an' I put 'em outta sight. So long as I do that, I never have the same one more'n once._

He didn't question her again after that. While she may not have followed the ways of her grandmother, she still held on to some of the things she'd been taught. And if drawing her nightmares kept her from talking in her sleep constantly, then that was fine by him, as long as he didn't have to see the drawings.

---------------------------------

Sofia knew when Ecklie was mad, and today he was pissed. He was ranting about the Graveyard shift ruining things for the day shift. As he strode past her, towards the break room, where all of the Graveyard was currently sitting, trying to crack the case, she tried to stop him.

"Um, Ecklie, I don't think you shoul-"

"Shut it, Curtis!"

She wisely closed her mouth, thinking that it might be more ammusing to see what happened. There were many shouts that came from the break room, which ensued for several minutes. Ecklie eventually came back out, face red, and obviously angry. _Were he a dog, _Sofia thought, trying to hide a smirk, _He'd have his tail tucked between his legs. _

"They tear you a new one, Ecklie?" she said, failing to hide her amusement.

Ecklie only glared at her as he walked by. Which meant they had.

"Hey, I tried to warn you."

---------------------------------

"Explain to me why we're here again?" Sara asked Catherine, as they went over Catherine's home again. It was 2 hours to deadline.

"Everyone else found clues at their places. All we found here was the note... I'm betting we missed some-..." she stopped suddenly, looking down the hall, at her daughter's bedroom door, "We did miss something... We didn't check her room. We foudn the note, taped to the door, but we didn't go in, because we got so hyped up about the note."

"I think that's why we're not supposed to work on personal cases," Sara pointed out, as she and Cath headed for the room, "But Grissom and I weren't about to let the day and swing shift be in charge of finding our daughter... And I'm pretty sure te rest of you felt the same about who he took from you..."

"Still strange," said Cath, stepping into Lindsay's room, "To hear you say 'our daughter' now, instead of 'my daughter'... I'm surprised you adapted so quickly. And you're right. I don't want anyone but me, Warrick, and the rest of you crazy bunch working on searching for Lindz."

"I didn't have to adapt... Work is the only place I used 'my' " Sara informed her friend, "And only some of us are-... Catherine... What is that?" she pointed to the shelf above Lindsay's TV. On it were several pictures, most of Lindsay with her friends and family. Right in the center was one of Lindsay, standing in front of an old rundown building, with her arm around a tall brunette girl, both were smiling and waving at the camera. 

Catherine picked up the photo, and she understood the clue left in the letter instantly. On the wall behind the two girls, were two large spray-painted fish, that looked exactly like the ones you might find in a Dr. Suess book. One was blue, the other was red. And around the wall, and the girls, were Joshua trees. They had found the missing peice. And Catherine had a rough idea of where the place was. 

----------------------------------

Greg was the only guy who wasn't sitting still. He was pacing back and forth. It had been too long since Catherine and Sara had called to say they were heading back to the lab, and that they had found the missing piece of the puzzle. But... This was Vegas, and it was Friday night, which meant everybody from L.A. was there, which meant major traffic. Yay. Right then, Greg was cursing every resident of L.A. and that general area. And he was doing it outloud. The language he was using was enough to make everyone wonder just how sane he was staying.

The kidnapping of Beth hadn't seemed to affect him too much, from all outward appearences, but after so long of Grissom telling them to remain impersonal in cases, you could get pretty good at hiding your emotions. Now was a time when he was failing miserably...

"Greg," said Warrick, finally, "Sit down, before I tie you down."

"I don't think that would work," Nick chimed in, "way he's pacin' ya'd have to sedate him."

Greg shook his head, muttered something else, but sat down.

Grissom, whom had been biting the legs of his glasses, and staying quiet, suddenly stopped, "It makes sense now... Perfect sense... The coffin, the factory drawing, the burnt wood, the Joshua trees..."

"Gil? Mind filling us in on what you're talking about?" Brass asked, trying to sound casual.

"The place Catherine found a photo of... I know it. It was an old coffin... factory, I guess you could say... Fire started a long ways back, most of the walls were still standing, though, just the inside, and the roof went down, but by then, the place was abandoned anyway. Always been Joshua trees out there. It was torn down, about six months ago... None of it's left now... Except the basement area."

-----------------------------

Catherine and Sara tried to keep from running into the building, but were unable to resist. They nearly ran into the guys, who were just heading out of what they still referred to as "Greg's lab".

"We know where we're goin', "said Warrick, "so let's round us up a couple of officers, and get going...Time is running out."

It took a good twenty minutes to round enough officers up that were willing to go without any kind of approval from their superiors. But the CSIs knew there was no time to try and get the approval of Ecklie, or the sherriff. The idiots would take to long, just to try and teach them a lesson, even if it meant innocent lives were lost.

That twenty minutes left them with half an hour to make a forty-five minute drive... and that was an estimated time when half of L.A.'s population _wasn't _in Vegas for the weekend. The other half would be there in the morning, or at least be on their way...

Thankfully, their route took them away from the main flow of traffic, and onto a backroad. A rather bumpy back road. It was enough to make Catherine feel like she was going to puke. It would be the first time that day. She'd done so that morning too. She heard Warrick ask if she was okay, and simply nodded. She knew she must've been looking green, but nervousness, and a bumpy road were not the best mixture. She looked in the rear veiw mirror at Greg, who was pointedly staring out the window. Trying not to look out the front most likely.

Behind Catherine, and Warrick, was Sara and Grissom, their passenger was Nick. Both Sara, and Griss were determined not to look at the clock. Nick however was staring at it, as if hypnotized.

"Nick?" said Sara, turning in her seat.

"Yeah, Darlin' " said Nick, momentarily looking away from the glowing green numbers.

"Would you please _stop _watching the clock? It's not helping any." Next to her, Grissom shook his head, though wether it was to agree with Sara, or to tell her it was pointless to tell Nick to stop, neither was sure.

"Well, I would, Sara... But it looks like we're out of time..." Nick inclined his head at the clock.

Sara looked towards it, just as the numbers flipped from 10:00 to 10:01. "Griss... How much longer till we get to that place?"

"Not more than a few minutes."

"I don't think we have a few minutes..." said Nick.

----------------------------

NOTE: The traffic in Vegas on Friday night, and saturday morning is very real. I have been to Vegas enough times from L.A. on a friday night or saturday morning... And believe me, it takes 2 to 3 hours longer than it should to get to Vegas. Remember, I speak from personal experience


	6. More Clues and One Left Behind

Okay, sorry for having been rude about the reviews lately. Much thanks to those of you who have reveied, I thank you. To those who read this, yet don't review, PLEASE PLEASE review. I would really appreciate your thoughts on it...

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Chapter Six: More Clues and One Left Behind

"Alright," Grissom ordered, onece they had arrived at their destination, "Everyone spread out and search for a way leading down into the cellar... and keep your eyes open..."

It was Brass and another cop that found the double doors, that lay open, revealing an old, soot-blackened stairwell. Cautiously, the CSIs, the detective, and their four officers that had accompanied them decended into the dark that was the old cellar.

Inside wasn't quite as dark. A spotlight hung from the middle of the ceiling, casting an eerie glow onto everything. There was a faint noise, coming from somewhere at the back, but it was hard to tell what it was. Even though the group stopped moving, the sound got louder. Until they realized it was a woman's voice, crying, and repeating one thing over and over again.

"Help me."

"Beth?" Greg said, all of a sudden. He bolted for the source of the voice, and no force on the planet could have stopped him.

"Greg, wait!" Brass told him, but Greg didn't listen.

Greg ran through the room, and to the back. There was a tall, skinny door there, open a crack. The voice was coming from in there. He pushed open the door to reveal another large room. Huddled in the far corner was a slim, long-legged, pale skinned woman, with a delicate face, like a porcelian doll's. Her long black hair, that, when she was standing, reached the floor, was in a heap around her. She kept her left arm crushed against her body. Most likely it was broken.

She looked up when she realized she was being watched. "Greg?" she asked in a shaky voice. She shoved herself to her feet, keeping her arm against herself. She half-ran and half-limped towards Greg, then all but collapsed in his arms, sobbing.

Greg held her up, and let her cry. He heard the others behind him, but didn't turn around. "I don't think any of the others are here," he said. He didn't know why he thought that, but it was just a feeling. The other four were long gone.

----------------------------

"Elizabeth?" Beth heard her name being said, and she snapped back into the real world. Real world... Ha! She would have rather been in her world that time. She'd had enough of the real world in that place, thank you very much.

"What?" she groaned, looking at her interrogaters. Brass, and Grissom... Greg had introduced her to them months ago...

"We need to know what happened," said Brass.

Beth looked towards the door. She saw Greg pacing back and forth outside. She looked back towards the two men, and said, "What happened? What happened is someone broke into my aparment, and dumped me in a dark room with four other people," she paused, and took a deep breath. She had no reason to be snappy with these men. They were trying to help. "I'm sorry... Like I said, he left me in that room, with the others... There were four different men, that I heard talking... The one who grabbed me was the one in charge... The other three were your run-of-the-mill henchmen. Not to bright, follow any order you give them... When.. When the ring-leader left for a while, the other three came into the room. They were going after the little girl, Summer."

She saw the look that crossed Grissom's face, and knew she had upset him, "But me, Ellie, and Susan stopped them... The other kid, she was still unconcious. I hit one of them, pretty hard.. So they took me instead, after giving Ellie and Susan a good beating... I-... I don't know how long it was before they took me back, but I know that they..." she stopped. Did she really want to say this? Did she really have to? She took another deep breath. She had too. But even knowing that didn't stop her from trembling at the mere thought of it, nor did it stop the tears that wanted to get out. "They raped me. That's all I know. I didn't see their faces... All I remember before being back with the others is hearing the men laugh..."

"Why did they leave you behind?" Grissom asked.

"When the boss got back, he demanded that we be taken outside... I saw it as a chance to get away, so I tried to run. They started shooting at me, and I fell down the stairs. Broke my arm. When they came to see if I was alive or not, the idiots that is, they heard me screaming, and thought that they had shot me... I heard them say that I wouldn't make it, Dumb asses didn't even see me. They just heard me... I heard a car start up, and drive off, and I managed to get to the back of the place, where I figured I'd hide for a while, then try to find someone to help..."

"How were the other girls, the last time you saw them?" Brass asked. Hadn't Ellie introduced herself as "Ellie Brass"? Maybe that explained the overdose of concern in his voice, for a detective.

"Lindsay, the girl who was unconcious for a long while, was fine, except for a bruise across her cheek. Susan was unharmed, until those guys beat her up... then she was all cuts and bruises. Ellie was the same, but she came in with a big gash across her arm... the little one, she had a big cut down her side... someone had bandaged her up, but the bandages were starting to turn red by the time they took us outside. Heard the boss talking about stiching her up...But she was a fighter none the less. All of them were... I was too out of it to try and fight. I only managed to run because that was all that had been on my mind. But the other four, they tore the three henchmen up. They didn't get hurt again, 'cuz the boss was telling 'em not to harm any of us. I think one of them was about ready to ignore the order, when Summer took a good chunk out of his hand... Wailed like banshee."

Outside the room, the rest of the team was listening. All were glad to hear that their loved ones were alive, but none were happy to hear what had gone on. Or what had happened. Greg was like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde over it all. One second he would be saying how glad he was Beth was back, then the next, without missing a beat, would be spouting off all the horrible things he'd do to the ones who'd raped her... He was starting to get a bit scary, but no one could calm him down. 

----------------------------

"Okay, what do we have?" Sara asked, when the team, minus Greg, was all gathered around a table.

"We know that the other girls are alive and-" Grissom started, but Nick cut him off.

"and biting? She pick up that trick from you or her mother?"

Grissom shook his head, and continued, "anyway, we know they're alive, or were a few hours ago... From the scene we found several shoe-prints in the dust, but nothing that could help us. No prints at the scene. No note, either. There was, however, a small piece of something, that Hodges has confirmed to be a chalkboard. Along with that. we found the chalk to go with it. And we've got the rape kit from Beth..Hodges is runnig that now."

"When Warrick and I went back to the scene," said Catherine, "we found bullet casings. 9mms, and one .50 caliber round. Bobby says it's most likely from a magnum. Also, I went back down into the cellar, and I found one of Lindsay's old school books... One she forgot to return. It was the one from her chemistry class. And it's no use to check for tire imprints in the dirt... We obscured any when we drove up."

"Okay... so a bit of chalk board, chalk, and a-" Brass was saying, before the girl who normally sat at the front desk interuped.

"Um... Excuse me, but I was told to give this to all of you..." she tossed a plain white envelope on the table, and started to try and leave, but Warrick stopped her. "Wait a minute... Did you see the guy who gave this to you?"

"No... Nothing more than his hands... he was wearing gloves. I didn't even look at him..." she turned, and left, looking as if she was frightened they were going to do something to her.

"You know," said Sara, "we need someone at the front who actually looks at who gives her messages... It would be a really big help."

Catherine had already opened the letter, to read it aloud.

_My apologies for not leaving behind a note before, but I was in somewhat of a hurry to leave before you got there, and for what happened to Beth. I know she's not dead. Those idiots thought I couldn't hear her screaming down in that basement. As punishment, for first attempting to rape Summer, then raping Beth, and then only adding to insult by lying to me, I've disposed of them. Such a pity. Good help is hard to find these days. But where I've got them now, I think the girls will be easier to handle. _

_I suggest you get some sleep before you continue your investigation... You've missed some evidence at the basement. Fresh eyes find fresh evidence._

Puzzle Master

Also in the envelope was a photo of three very badly beaten very dead men.

----------------------------

Greg leaned against the wall, watching Beth. She was curled up in the hotel room bed, arm wrapped in a cast, and wearing one of his t-shirts. Beth hadn't wanted to go back to the apartment. Not that they could have gone anyway. It was still a crime scene. So, to a hotel they'd gone. She still hadn't said anything to him.

He got into bed with her, expecting her to move away from him, but she didn't. She instead, turned over, and snuggled closer to him.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you the other day," said Beth, against his chest, "I shouldn't have..."

"I'm sorry to," said Greg.

"For what?"

"For not switching when you asked...If I had, I'd've been home nights and-"

"He'd've gotten me during the day," Beth interupted, "I give up on that argument." She looked up at him, and gave him a quick kiss. "I thought I'd never get to do that again."

Greg kissed her in reply, but he didn't make it a quick one. That kiss let Beth know just how much Greg Sanders had missed her.

------------------------------

As much as they hated to, the team had taken the perp's advice. they did need some sleep. Like Greg and Beth, Catherine, Warrick, Grissom, Sara, and Nick had gotten hotel rooms. Brass was the only one who could go home, as he was the only one whose home wasn't a crime scene.

The idea behind even getting a room seemed to have eluded Catherine Brown comepletly, however, for she was pacing back and forth in front of the window, worrying. Warrick was worried too, but he knew that both of them needed to be wide awake if they were going to find Lindsay. But, as said before, that idea had eluded Catherine.

"Catherine, Honey," said Warrick, "Stop. Just get some sleep."

"How am I supposed to sleep after what Beth told us?" she asked, not stopping. She was going to wear a hole in the floor.

"By telling yourself that you'll be able to help Lindsay if you do," Warrick replied, "Come on, you haven't slept since you were working that robbery case, thursday night."

"I wasn't sleeping, I was resting my eyes," she retorted, "I didn't sleep any that-," she stopped when she realized she had fallen into his trap, "Okay, you win..." she sighed, defeated, and got into bed. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

----------------------------

The rain that had recently started pouring down reflected Sara Sidle's mood. She sat on the edge of the bed, staring out the window, through the part in the drapes. She knew Grissom was behind her, staring at her.

"Grissom, either move or talk, one of the two... You're creepy when you stay that still and quiet."

She heard him chuckle, and then move. He sat next to her on the bed, "What're you thinking about?"

"About how much I want to find Summer, and the others," she said, and half-turned to look at him, "and other, random things..."

Grissom took her hand in his, and gave her fingers a squeeze, "We'll find them, Sara."

"I know we'll find them," she replied, "It's the condition we find them in that I'm worried about," she sighed, and added, "I wish I could handle this as calmly as you..."

"No you don't," he said, "And I only keep it together for Summer. Besides, you're doing good." He put a hand to her cheek, leaned forward and kissed her. As always, Sara felt any worries disappear. He had a talent for doing that, and he knew it.

------------------------------

Nick lay staring up at the ceiling. It felt so strange, not to have Susan nex to him. Like him, she had a night job, so their schedules worked out. He'd gotten so used to having her there, next to him, over the past year and a half that it was difficult to even fathom sleeping.

That was the thing about getting attatched to someone. The moment they were gone, you didn't know what to do. He rolled over in bed, staring at the wall. He could hear someone walking in the room above him, and wished they'd stop. other wise he'd never get to sleep.

Finally, after an hour, or so, his wish was granted, and all was silent.

Perhaps he'd get some sleep after all. One could only hope.

--------------------------------

Brass was the first one back to the lab. He hadn't slept a wink. So, he just drank coffee to help him stay awake... Alot of coffee. _God, I'm turning into Sara... _ He thought. And no sooner had he thought it, than Sara came in, looking grouchy as a wounded bear.

"Where's the coffee?" She grumbled.

"Where it normally is, Darlin' " said a groggy sounding Nick, from behind her.

"Don't let her drink to much of that," Grissom warned, arriving only seconds after Nick.

Greg was next. "Morning," he yawned.

"What're you doing here, Greg?" Brass asked, "You earned some time off. You should be with Beth."

"I would be, if she hadn't all but kicked me out. Said I couldn't stay home until the others were found- Sara save me some coffee!" he cut himself of when he saw Sara heading for the coffee pot.

Remembering what Greg was like with coffee, Brass said, "Gil, I wouldn't worry about Sara... Keep an eye on _him_."

"The coffee's already being raided?" said Warrick, poking his head in the room.

"Who cares about the coffee," said Catherine, "give me something with alchohol in it, and I'll be happy camper."

Once all of them had their coffee, and were somewhat awake, they sat at the table, to review what they had. Which was: a bit of chalk board, and chalk, 9mm rounds, and one .50 caliber round, and nothing else. It wasn't much to go on, but it was all they had. So, to work they went, trying to put the pieces together. The semen from Beth came back without a match, so there was even more pieces to put together. It wasn't easy...

And they doubted they'd be finding the place any time soon. And with only fourteen hours left, time was quickly running out.


	7. A Good Witness is a Dead Witness

Come one people, You're killin me here, with no reviews! Please! Please I beg you, review:p (look at me, I'm actually begging...) Without reviews, this fic doesn't continue :p

To those who have, you have my eternal love and devotion... And a dead cat. (I have seen mindhunters WAY to many times.)

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Chapter Seven: A good Witness is a Dead Witness

In the previous night's excitement, Sara had forgotten all about her neighbor, Mr. Morris, whom Mrs. Grant had said had been out in the garden all night. So, she went with Brass to ask him a few questions, while the others tried to figure out the location of the girls.

After two solid minutes of knocking, without an answer, Sara began to get a bit suspicious. His car was in the driveway, and his dog wasn't in the yard, like it usually was when he was gone.

"Mr. Morris!" she called, "Mr. Morris are you home?!"

Both she and Brass pounded on the door. Still they got no answer. Worried, Sara walked around to the fence gate, opened it, and whistled for the dog. She heard barking come from inside. She walked back around to the front, and looked at Brass.

"Permission to or not, I'm going in there," she said, plainly.

"I won't tell anyone if you won't," Brass replied.

Sara gave him a quick smirk, and turned the doorknob. The door opened easily. No locks, nothing. She stepped in, "Mr. Morris? Are you here?" There was a growl from the left, and a vicious sounding bark. Sara saw Mr. Morris' rottweiler-german shepard mix, and it's four puppies. The adult's hackles were raised, and it was snarling at Sara and Brass.

"Good dog," said Sara, trying desperately to remember the dog's name... She was sure Summer had told her at one point, as she was always over, playing with the puppies, "Ummm.. Good dog, good Candy." The dog's ears pricked, at the sound of her name. Sara knelt down, "Come here, girl, come here." The dog hesitated, but eventually came to Sara, stiff, ready to bolt. The puppies were staying right where they were.

"Um, Brass, would you keep her occupied for a minute?" Sara asked, standing up. Brass nodded, and Sara stepped around the dog, and went further into the house. In the hallway, past the frightened pups, were shattered picture frames, that hung on the wall. And at the end of the hall was the body of Charles Morris, his throat slashed. Once Sara got closer, she peeked around the corner, and saw three other bodies. They were the same men from the photo that had been with the perp's last note...

"Brass! We got four bodies in here! Call PD!"

-----------------------------

Nick, and Grissom were on the scene in a flash. According to Nick, everyone else had wanted to come, as well, but they'd doubted there'd be enough room.

"So, David, what's our TOD?" Sara asked, after the coroner had taken all the liver temps.

"Well, your three thugs died at approximetely eleven PM... Mr. Morris here died at around one or two AM. As for COD, well, you'll have to ask Doc Robbins about that."

"Well," said Sara as the bodies were taken out of the house, "You reckon he made a mistake this time?"

"One can only hope," said Brass, "I'll let you guys get to work."

"Okay," said Nick, "I understand the three baddies, but why the old man?"

"The old man," said Grissom, "Was a witness..."

----------------------------

Sara went back to the lab, too see what Doc Robbins' verdict was, while Nick, and Grissom stayed behind to process the scene.

"Well, I've found your CODs," said the doctor, as Sara looked down at the four bodies. "Thug number one, who happens to be Jackson Mercer, found an ID on him, died of blunt force trauma. The wound on the top of his head suggests that he was sitting down when he was hit, or his attacker was up on something. Looks like he was give quite a few good whacks before the killing blow though. He's covered in bruises."

"What about this guy?" she pointed to the next in line.

"this one is Micheal Talling. His death was a gunshot wound to the back of the neck. Bullet was buried in his spinal cord, I already sent it to ballistics. Also, his left hand is swollen, from this wound, between the thumb and forefinger. Looks like a bite mark. Whoever took a chunk out of this guy meant business. "

"That's my girl..." Sara said to herself. The doc heard her.

"You know who bit him?"

"Yeah, my daughter did... We found Beth last night, she told us everything that went on."

"ah... anyway, Guy number three is Kasey Edwards, he died of strangulation. Didn't seem to be any prints on his throat, sorry. But I did find bruising on his shoulders, which indicates that someone had their knees on him while he was being strangled... In addition to all of their serious injuries, all of them have scratches that look like they were caused by finger nails. Another of the girls?"

"Beth most likely. What about Mr. Morris?"

"His heart burst," said Doc Robbins, "It seems it was weak already... but he had to've seen something that really messed with him if his heart just popped like that."

"Do you think seeing someone dragging three bodies into your house, after you've seen him before, taking a little girl would be enough?"

"It might."

-----------------------------

"Hey, Griss," said Nick, "I found where the guy got in."

One of the windows in the sitting room was shattered. There was a muddy boot print below the window, and mud smeared on the rug, as if the guy had tried to wipe it off. He dusted the window sill for prints, and came up with a few. Grissom wasn't listening to Nick though. He'd just found a hair on the floor, that didn't look like it belonged to any of the bodies.

"Got a hair in here that doesn't belong, Nicky," said Grissom, "What do you think? Does our killer have strawberry-blonde hair?"

------------------------------

"The hair is not a match to the blood we found before," said Greg, it belongs to someone else... I've got Hodges working on that now, but the fingerprints match the ones found in Summer's room. DNA confirms that the three guys you found in addition to your now dead witness are the ones who raped Beth..."

"How long till you get a match on that hair?" Warrick asked.

"Ask Hodges," Greg told him.

It was Nick that went to talk to Hodges, instead of Warrick, however.

--------------------------------

"Hey, Hodges, how long till we get a match on that hair?"

"Do I look like I can tell the future?" said Hodges, rather rudely, "When I know, I'll tell you, okay?"

"You know, you might consider being a bit nicer, Hodges... None of us are in the greatest mood, and you keep up your attitude, you're likely to piss off the wrong person."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Hodges, "Now please, go away."

Nick shook his head, and left. That man was going to get himself fired one of these days. 

--------------------------------

"Hey, Sara!" said Bobby, catching up with the woman.

"Yeah, Bobby?"

"I checked out that bullet, from one of your bad guys, and it's a match to the bullets found out in the desert."

"Thanks," said Sara, with a smile.

"Oh, and Brass said that he found a survelliance camera in the newest scene..."

Sara was off down the hall before Bobby even halfway finished his sentence, "Thanks again!" she called over her shoulder.

-------------------------------

The tape from the camera happened to have been in the wrong place, but in the right place, at the same time. They were able to see some of what had gone on, but not all of it. In the corner of the screen, they could see the bodies being drug into the room where they'd been found. Then the perp walked down the hall. and towards the front door, but imediately turned towards the living room instead. A few minutes later, he came back into veiw, dragging the body of Mr. Morris.

The dog, Candy, wasn't far behind, but she hadn't stood much of a chance against the man. One good kick to the shoulder, and she didn't try to go after him again.

After placing the body, the man simply walked out the front door. That was art 1:45 am... The chances of anyone having seen him were slim to none. In fact it would have been quite the miracle if anyone had.

-----------------------------

NOTICE: The next chap. has been written to be sad... Maybe even a tear-jerker... We'll have to see. :p


	8. Goodbyes I love yous and being found out

Now, wether or not the beginning of this one is sad to you will depend greatly on how well you can imagine it, and just how sappy you are XD

To those who've reviewed, thanks!

To those who haven't: Start reviewing!  
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Chapter Eight: Goodbyes, I Love You's, and Being Found Out

It was eight hours to deadline when a phone call came for five CSIs and one detective. A call that made them begin to wonder what their chances of sucess really were.

----------------------------

Sitting around a table, discussing evidence again. They were desperately trying to figure out where they were supposed to go... All of them were sure that if they could just get a match for that hair, they'd know where to go.

All of them nearly jumped out of their skins when a woman poked her head in the room, "There's a phone call for all of you... Didn't say who it was. You want to take it?"

"why not?" said Catherine, "Maybe someone who can help us..."

The phone went on speaker, and several voices tried to talk at once. There was a brief squabble, before one clear voice finally put it to an end, "Nick, are ya there?"

Nick's jaw nearly hit the floor, and his heart lept into his throat, "Susan!? Oh, god, Sue, are you okay?"

"Not really," she replied, while the rest of the group sat in a stunned silence, "an' don' call me Sue, knucklehead. "

"Susan," said Warrick, finally able to speak, "Is Lindsay there? Are you guys hurt?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Dad," said another voice, this one belonging to Lindsay Brown, "Is mom there?"

"I'm here Sweetheart," said Catherine... "Are the other girls with you two?"

"Yeah," said Susan, "They are... Summer, honey, c'mere. No one's gonna hurt ya..." she paused for a moment... "Come here..." her voiced faded out, and a new one joined the conversation.

"Dad?" it was Ellie.

"Ellie! How did you get hold of a phone?"

"He gave us one," said Ellie, "All he said was we could say goodbye..."

"Where did Susan go?" Nick asked, not liking the sound of what Ellie had said.

"She went to see if she could get Summer out of her corner..." said Lindsay, "Is Beth okay?"

"Yeah, she is," said Greg.

Sara and Grissom stayed comepletely silent. Until they heard the little girl's voice say, "Mama? Daddy? Where are you?"

"We're at work, Lady Bug," said Grissom, "We're trying to find you."

"Summer, Baby,can you tell us where you are?" Sara asked

"I doubt it," Ellie chimed in.

"why's that, Ellie?" Warrick asked.

"I don't even know where we are," she replied.

"It smells like books," said Lindsay. She paused uncomforably for a minute, "Well, it does... that's all I can say."

"She's right, " said Susan, "it does."

"All right, " said a male voice, "Time's up. Get off, quick."

Again, all four of the captives tried to speak at once. Eventually they sorted out who would speak first. This time it was Ellie, "'Bye Dad... Sorry..." she sounded like she was going to cry...

"Ellie, w-" Brass started, but by then, Lindsay was already speaking.

"Mom... Dad, I love you guys... " she choked.

"We love you too, Sweetheart," Warrick and Catherine chorused, both of their voices were shaky. They were holding it together for Lindsay's sake.

"Thanks for trying..." she said. They heard her sniffle, then start to cry. Then she went silent.

Then was Susan's turn, "Nicky?"

"Yeah, Babe?" said Nick, blinking rapidly.

"I love you... "

"I love you to, Susan..." Nick replied, wiping his eyes.

Sara gripped Grissom's hand, knowing who was next. "Mama, Daddy... You're not going to find us are you?" She sounded so sure of it.

"Yes we are, Lady Bug," said Grissom. Like Nick, he had started blinking away tears. Sara hadn't bothered to try and stop them.

"No you won't..." Summer muttered, like she always did when she disagreed with them. After a breif pause, and a few sniffs, she said, in a strangled voice, "Mama, Daddy, I love you..."

"I love you, too, baby," Sara said, her voice choked.

"And I love you, Honey," said Grissom.

"Okay, ladies get off!" said the male voice again. There was a high pitched screech, and one of the women shouting "Leave her alone!" Then the line was dead. The one thing going through Greg's mind was how lucky Beth had been to escape, and how much he wished he could get his hands on whoever had done this. Going through Nick's mind was the voice that was telling him he would never hear Susan's voice again, that he'd never see her smile... Never know what she would have said to him... He clutched the ring box he still had in his pocket as he thought that. On Brass' mind was the fact that he still hadn't apologized for what he'd said to Ellie when she'd come to see him. He was starting to think he wasn't going to get the chance.

Catherine held her head in her hands, as she struggled to hold in sobs, as Warrick wrapped his arms around her. Going through their minds was the things they'd planned to do for Lindsay when she went off to college... How exceited she'd been about going, how amusing it had been to watch her fret over wether or not she'd get in to a good school. Sara was sobbing into Grissom's shoulder. On her mind was the way Summer had sounded... The way Susan'd had to go and coax her into talking on the phone. For her to be like that, something worse than what Beth had said had happened. On Grissom's mind was the fact that she thought they'd failed. That she'd given up any hope of being found... That hurt more than anything else. She'd always been an optomistic girl, despite being so serious... For her to lose that hopefullness...

"Hey I-..." said a happy sounding Hodges, rushing into the room. He stopped when he saw all of their faces. "Who died?"

The glares he got could have peeled paint. "What do you want, Hodges?" Greg asked, as he was the only one who wasn't dealing with the prospect of losing his girlfriend, or daughter.

"I got a match off that hair," he tossed a photo onto the middle of the table. "Her name is Daisy Shaun. She's a teacher at the highschool. Her address and phone number are there. You might want to ask her just how her hair got on a crime scene..."

------------------------------

"My hair? On a crime scene? How?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," said Sofia.

"Five people were kidnapped Thursday night, Miss Shaun-" said Warrick.

"Mrs." she corrected, "It's Mrs. Shaun. "

"Where's your husband?" Sofia asked.

"He's away, on business," said the frail looking woman. "He left Wednesday night... " Her eyes shifted slightly. She was lying.

"Away on business where?" Warrick wanted to know.

"In Los Angeles, and San Diego... He won't be back until tomorrow morning... He used to be a school teacher... He goes to other schools, to give lectures sometimes..."

"And would you happen to be a teacher too, Ma'am?" Warrick already knew the answer.

"Yes, I am... Highschool Chemistry. Why?"

_The Chemistry book... _Warrick thought. "Would you excuse me for a moment?" He left the room for a few minutes, leaving Sofia and Daisy looking at one another uncomfortably. When he came back he said in a dead serious tone, "Mrs. Shaun, would you come with us to PD?"

"What? Why? I don't think I should... Eli, my husband, might not appreciate that..."

"We're going, wether Eli would like it or not," said Sofia.

---------------------------------

Grissom was ready to smash his head into the metal table. The hair had been enough to get the woman for only a little while, unless she couldn't come up with an alibi to explain why it was there, and she denied every having been in Charles Morris' house. Her excuse was that it was possible her husband had gone there, and some of her hair had been on him. Upon realizing what shed said, she back-tracked, and tried to asy that her husband didn't know him either.

She refused a lawyer, over and over again. But what screwed her over the most was when they played a clip from the phone call they'd gotten before, and she heard the man's voice and recognized it. That, with the hair, and her slip-up before was enough to get a warrant to search her house. By then, time was really running out. They were down to six hours.

Greg stuck his head into the room, then his arm, waving the results of the prints, and DNA collected from Daisy's home. Grissom beckoned him to bring them over. Greg tossed them onto the table between Griss, and Daisy. Those papers held Daisy's freedom, or possibly evidence that would condemn her.

The finger prints were a match. The DNA was a match. Daisy's husband was certainly the one who'd been at those scenes. The thing was, had he wanted them to find out? Surely he'd known they'd get to her eventually, because of the hair... or had it really been accidental transfer? Grissom couldn't imagine the man who had been so careful up to then had forgot the hair... It had to've been planted.

"Mrs. Shaun... This is the results of DNA and fingerprint tests we did. the DNA and fingerprints confirm that it was your husband who kidnapped Ellie Brass, Summer Grissom, Elizabeth Markay, Susan Goldsmith, and Lindsay Brown, and that he murdered Charles Morris, Jackson Mercer, Kasey Edwards, and Micheal Talling... Not to mention at _least _twenty-one other people, from various cities."

The woman turned her face away from him. Her lack of a horrified reaction told him she knew. "Where are they?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," she snapped, no longer the frail, frightened looking woman she had been when she'd been brought in. "What's it matter to you anyway? You don't seem like the type of man who has a family, or any close friends. Why could it possibly be so important for you to find whoever he's taken?"

There were few insults that made Grissom angry. Jabs at the fact that he had issues getting close to people was one of those few. "Your husband has my daughter, Mrs. Shaun. As well as the daughters, and fiancee of my colleagues, and friends. That is why it matters to me. Now where are they?"

"I DON'T KNOW! It's not like you'd make in time anyway... I know what his deadline is... And you've only got an hour an half to get there..." she sounded pleased with herself for knowing this. She was about to say something else when the door opened again, and in stormed Catherine.

"Greg told me the results," she said. She looked angry enough to kill someone, "Where's my daughter, you bitch!-" she looked the woman right in the face, and gasped, "I know you... You were Lindsay's favorite teacher... The science and Chemist-... I know where they are!" she interupted herself.

"What?" Grissom asked, feeling sure that he'd missed something.

"Grissom... I know where the girls are!"

--------------------------------

So I tkae it you guys know where they are too :P


	9. Victory And Tragedy

Here ya go... Chappie Nine... Please enjoy, and review!

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Chapter Nine: Victory... And Tragedy

This time, all of them were cursing every Californian who came to Vegas on the weekends. They hadn't gotten Daisy to talk, but Catherine had figured it out. The chalkboard, the chalk, the chemistry book, the hair leading right to a teacher... The girls were at the highschool.

Something strange was going on though... there were already cops there when they arrived. Not to mention the men in the Bio-hazard suits. Something was definately wrong. When the group approached, they were stopped by one of the bio-hazard guys.

"I'm sorry, but you have to leave," he said, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"We're with the Las Vegas crime lab," said Sara, "I think you'll find that as a matter of fact we don't have to leave."

"The crime lab has no reason to be here," said the man, getting grumpy, "Just a bunch of kids, playin' a prank is all. Mixed up a few things from the chem lab, tossed 'em all around the area..."

'What?" said Warrick, "And you haven't gone inside to see if anyone's in there?"

"We assumed anyone with half a brain would come out on their own," the guy snapped.

Catherine reisted the urge to slap the man, "Did you ever think that maybe they might not be able to?"

"Well..."

"There are four people being held in there!" Grissom said.

The man let out a scarcastic cough, "Sure... And just how do you know that?"

"that's it," said Brass, "I have low tolerance for idiots, so either get out of our way, or be made too." That was when Warrick's watch started beeping.

"Shit..." he muttered, "I had this set to go off at 10:05... We've missed the deadline... again."

That was when the screams started. Horrible high pitched screams, that sounded like someone in mortal agony. Awful, heartwrenching screams that chilled everyone to the bone.

And that was only the beginning.

-----------------------------

The man in the Bio-Hazard suit's name was Frankie. And Frankie wasn't the brightest of souls. He did his job, exactly as he was told. He had been told that under no circumstances was anyone to be allowed in the school. And despite the screams, he wasn't going to allow the seven people who'd showed up to get in. They weren't cops. They were scientists. Let the cops, who were already heading for the building, handle it. He continued to tell the troublesome seven that they weren't getting anywhere near the building, when one of them, the short, heavy detective, hit him... Hard. He felt something crack, in his jaw when the man's fist made contact.

He dropped to the ground, pain blinding him. He saw feet going past him, and heard arguments going on, but he wasn't sure who was involved. All he knew was that he was wishing he'd never gone to work that night.

-----------------------------

The doors were locked of course. Nick and Warrick took care of that in a matter of seconds. A few good kicks was enough to knock the front doors in. Guns drawn, and ready, the group went into the school building. The screams had stopped now... somehow no one took it as a good sign.

Catherine was able to lead them to the chem-lab. That door was locked too. Again, that was easily taken care of. The sight they got when they opened the door nearly made Brass throw up. Ellie was in the center of the room, cuts all over her body, handcuffed to a chair. Standing over her was a tall, thin man. He was adding more and more cuts to her body, with razor blades. He didn't seem to notice that fact that they were here, nor did he notice the fact that his torture victim wasn't breathing.

"drop that!" Brass shouted, and the man looked up.

"You're late..." he said calmly, "Too bad really. If you'd made it a few minutes before, you might have saved Ellie..."

"Where are the other girls?" Nick spat.

"They're here... But you're not allowed to find them. You missed the deadline."

"We don't give a damn about your little deadline," said Catherine, trying hard not to look at Ellie, or Brass, "Where are the others?"

The man still didn't answer. He just stood there, staring at them, until he finally spoke, "No one's ever figured it out before... Even after their time was up. I congratulate you for your great effort."

"WHERE ARE THEY!" Sara shouted, nearly giving in to the urge to pull the trigger of her gun. A muffled cry from one of the two closets stopped her. All heads turned towards the closets.

"Officers," said Grissom, to the cops who came running up behind the CSIs, "Give me a hand..." to his CSIs, he said, "You guys get those closets open." He approached Eli Shaun, and the body of Ellie Brass, the cops close behind him. "Eli Shaun, you are under arrest. I don't think I need to tell you the charges, but just in case, we're starting with Murder, and kidnapping." The officers cuffed the man, shocked by his lack of resistance.

There was a happy yell from the direction of the closets, and Grissom turned. Blindfolds were being pulled of the eyes of three very alive people. Grissom went over to the small crowd, that was quickly becoming a shower of tears. He had Summer, and Sara wrapped in a tight embrace before even he knew it. The little girl shook with sobs of relief, and happiness as she held on tight to her parents, and right then, Grissom didn't care about anything else, other than that he had her back. All Sara knew was that she, like her daughter, was crying. Crying because Summer was safe, because she had thought she'd never see her alive again. And Summer... Summer was glad it was over, and glad to be back in her parents arms.

Lindsay was hesitant to hug her parents... As if she were afraid they'd disappear the second she touched them. She and the others had gone through alot in the past two days, and she didn't even want to remember it. It was going to be awhile before she slept, she knew that much, but when she finally rushed to Catherine and Warrick, she knew that at least she wouldn't be alone. Catherine didn't cry. No. She held it in, and just held on to Lindsay tight, muttering something even she couldn't understand. Warrick didn't think anything just then. The overwhelming relief at finding Lindsay had his mind rendered comepletey blank for the time being.

Susan had lept on Nick, and kissed him, before he even had the chance to register that she was there... that she wasn't an illusion. And he had her wrapped in a hug so tight that she had to remind him she did need to breath. They, like the others, just sat there, enjoying being back with the ones they loved ... Everyone, but one.

Jim Brass stood next to the lifeless body of his daughter, clutching her hand, staring blankly at her pale, dead face. He couldn't break down here... not here. But the one thing that kept going through his mind was; _ if we'd gotten here a few minutes earlier... just a few minutes... That's all... _ There wasn't anything he wouldn't have given to have her back right then... To tell her that he was sorry... To tell her how much she meant to him. That was the one thing he wanted, and the one thing he wasn't going to get, no matter how much he wished, no matter how badly he wanted it, and no matter how many what ifs came to mind. His chance to make things right with his daughter had long since passed. He'd just been to much of a fool to notice.

---------------------------

Sara got the honor of the interogation this time. Brass had wanted to do it, but the chances of Shaun getting out of the room alive were slim if he were to do it, so Brass had been turned down. They left the processing for the scene to Swing Shift. Shaun had turned down the offer of a lawyer. All the better, really. Sara hated dealing with them.

"You're Summer's mom, Sara," the man said, so calmly it was disturbing.

"I'd prefer Miss Sidle," Sara managed to make her voice not quite sound like a hiss. She waited a moment before she asked, "So, why the name 'Puzzle Master'. huh?"

"Nick name I got in school. It stuck. So I used it," he replied, still cool and calm, "Why don't you ask what you really want to ask?"

"Okay, I will. Why? Why did you do all of this?"

"To test you. Testing, teaching, it's what I do. Just like what you do is solve crimes, simple as that."

Sara tried to hide the fact that she was shaking with rage. She didn't know how well she was doing, "Teaching, and testing huh?" She opened the folder containing photos of Ellie Brass, lying on an autopsy table, "You call torturing a young woman teaching? You call cutting her with drug-tipped blades teaching? You call taking five people from their homes, and terrorizing them teaching?" Her voice rose in volume with each word.

"Yes," he told her simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Sara wanted to scream at him, call him crazy, but some thing told her this man wasn't crazy... That he knew perfectly well what he was doing. Sick, maybe, but not crazy.

"You've killed twenty-six people, Mr. Shaun," she spat, "and you say it's to teach, and test? One of my colleagues had to listen to his daughter scream until she died, tonight. How could that possibly be teaching?"

"Someone so close-minded as you wouldn't understand Miss Sidle."

----------------------------

Brass, Grissom, and Doc Robbins stood over Ellie's body. Brass was remaining silent.

"COD is massive drug overdose," said Doc Robbins, "Learned that much from Tox. They also found traces of a heavy sedative in her blood-stream, so I'm guessing she wasn't awake for most of it. Other than the bruises, that's all I can really tell you... I'm sorry, Jim."

"Thanks, Doc... At least we got the guy," said Brass, sadly. "Gil, shouldn't you be home with Sara and Summer?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay, and that we had the guy, beyond a shadow of a doubt. All the ladies are at the hospital, getting checked out now, so I've still got time."

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, Sara was getting very close to losing control, and either hitting, or killing Eli Shaun. It wasn't anything it was saying. It was the way he was looking. That superior, smug look. He felt no remorse for what he'd done, and that had never been something Sara could comprehend.

"It was that hair, wasn't it?" he asked, finally, "the one I left at that house that led you to Daisy."

"Yes, it was. You sound surprised," it was Sara's turn to look smug, "You should have been more careful."

"Careful had nothing to do with it. I meant for you to find it. I just didn't expect you to find it that fast."

"You said it yourself, Mr. Shaun, we solve cases other labs render unsolvable. You should have known just who you were fucking with."

"That's not any way to talk to someone, now is it?" he scolded, only further annoying Sara.

"You kidnapped my daughter," she spat, "I think that gives me the right to talk you however the hell I want."

He only smirked, "why not just have me taken away now, Miss Sidle... I can see you're starting to lose control... You hurt me, and you'll have a hard time getting out of trouble."

"Not a single person here would fault me for killing you, right here and now," Sara warned, "But, I'd rather see you rot in prison for the rest of your life. Twenty-six murder charges, not to mention kidnapping? You're looking at a long time behind bars. And believe me, I am sure that some of the people you've hurt here can find ways to make your prison life so bad you'll wish that I'd killed you." She shoved herself away from the table, and left the room abruptly. Outside were her friends, getting ready to leave. All but Brass.

"Don't bother Brass," she said, "There are other ways of getting revenge." Even though she said that, there was nothing more she would have liked to do than to take a leaf out of Lady Heather's book, and beat the shit out of the man.

But that didn't matter right then. What mattered was that she and the others had to get to the hospital. Well, except for Greg, he had to get home. From the smile he wore as he talked to Beth on the phone, he was going to get a hero's welcome.

"Come on, guys... Let's get out of here. " said Warrick, "And not come back, for a week or so."

-----------------------

No that's not the end. Two chaps left.


	10. Going home and Dealing with Nightmares

Okay, short chappie, but ya'll get the last one with ity, so no complaints :P  
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Chapter Ten: Going Home, the Trial, and Dealing with Nightmares.

As far as physical injuries, all of the ladies were as well as could be expected. Summer had to have a few stiches on her side, and Lindsay had to have a few on the back of her head, but other than that, no serious injuries. All were exetremely happy about finally getting to go home. And who could blame them?

Lindsay, despite being exausted, had no intention of sleeping that night. She didn't think she'd be able to. After the initial excitement of being free wore off, she began to remember Ellie Brass' screams, and everything else that had happened. Nightmare city. She figured a night of just sitting up, and talking with her parents was in order. When they got home, they did just that. They talked.

About mundane, every day things, to keep her mind off of what had taken place, get her mind off of listening to a woman die.

Warrick and Catherine knew Lindsay was distracting herself, so they let her. They were glad of the distraction as well. Despite her claims that she wasn't going to sleep, it wasn't long before Lindsay was sound asleep on the couch, between her parents, dead to the world.

They got up, and situated her on th couch where she would sleep comfortably. "I'd take her to her room," said Warrick, "But I'm not sure I could lift her."

"Don't worry about it," said Catherine, brushind Lindsay's hair out of her face, "She'll be fine here." She straightened, "Good night, Lindsay."

"Good to have you back, Lindz," said Warrick, draping his arm over Catherine's shoulders. They walked towards their room, leaving Lindsay to sleep off the past days' exhaustion. As they went into the room, Catherine caught her husband in a rather heated kiss, to which he responded eagerly. Unlike Lindsay, they weren't going to be asleep for a long while.

------------------------

Susan was a chatter box all the way home from the hospital. Nick didn't understand half of what she was saying. The faster she spoke, the more her lousianna accent came out, and when that happened, she was as hard to understand as he was... That was a side effect of being from the southern states... You tended to never lose at least some of you accent, and sometimes, the full accent came back to throw people off track. He simply stayed quiet, until she finally stopped, either because she was out of breath, or her jaw had finally unhinged, one of the two.

"Jaw come off track, finally, Darlin' " he asked, as they headed for their apartment, which, at some point in time, crime scene clean-up had visited.

"Nah," she said, "I jus' noticed ya weren' runnin' your mouth at nine'y miles an hour like I was, an' I figured that meant ya didn' feel like talkin'."

"I was just waitin' for a chance to get a question in, 'tween you breakin' the speed of sound with that mouth of yours..."

"Well, I'm listenin' now," she replied, as they stepped into the apartment.

"Okay, well since I'm a knucklehead, as you've said, I won't dance around, won't be fancy, I'll be my usual, blunt self," said Nick, "Will you marry me?"

She never even missed a beat, "Well, it's about dratted time, " she said, laughing at the Texan's nervous grin, "I thought ya'd never ask, Nicky... Yes."

And the night got a whole lot better.

-----------------------

Summer was asleep before they even got home. She had just conked out in the middle of saying something about a dog. Despite the fact that she looked perfectly peaceful, sleeping in the back seat right then, Sara knew she'd be awake, and nowhere near ready to sleep again by the time they got to the house. And she was right. All though, she was awake, by the time they arrived, she was quiet, staring off into space, with an expression that said she didn't want to be dragged out of her little world right then.

Some hours later, once she finally had gone to bed, Grissom and Sara were just getting to sleep, when screams woke them up. Grissom was the first up and out of the room, as Sara had gotten her feet tangled in the blankets.

"What's wrong, Kiddo?" He asked, turning on Summer's bedroom light.

"Bad dream..." she said sheepishly.

"I see... Think you can get back to sleep?"

She shrugged, "I dunno..." she paused a moment, "Can I sleep with you and Mama tonight? Please?" She gave him the puppy-dog eyes routine... And it worked. "Sure thing, Lady Bug... Come on." The girl practically lept out of bed, and beat her father to her parents' bedroom.

Grissom shrugged when he saw Sara's questioning glance, at the girl. Summer fell asleep again rather fast, curled up between her parents, and didn't wake up once from another nightmare.

---------------------

It didn't matter how tired he was, Brass couldn't sleep. He didn't even want too. He'd never thought his daughter's death would hit him this hard, even though he'd never stopped loving her, but it was.. It was hitting him really hard.

By the time the sun rose the next morning, he still hadn't slept, and he was still sitting in a chair, thinking of all the things he could do to Eli Shaun. But none were as satisfying as letting him rot in prison, for however long the sentence... And it was going to be a long one. They couldn't pin the other twenty-one victims on him, but the five he was guilty of in Vegas? They'd get him. They'd damn sure get him.

Of the group, he was the only one who went to work the next shift. He wasn't to surprised that no one else was there. They had earned a few days off, with their families. He was glad of being at work alone, at least. He didn't need the 'are you okay' looks, or the constant questions.

That was something he wanted to avoid for as long as he possibly could.

---------------------

It was several weeks later that the trial was held. The charges? Five counts of murder, and five counts of kidnapping. Eli Shaun's wife, Daisy, was going to be doing some jail time as well, as she had admitted to knowing of her husband's plans, and had even admitted to helping him. Shaun didn't look too happy at the trial... Mostly because he kept telling his lawyer to shut up, and to stop trying to prove him innocent.

When the time came for him to speak, he shocked everyone. "To hell with my lawyer, and his feeble attempts at keeping me out of prison. I freely admit that I killed five people on June fifteenth, and that I took four young women, and one child from their homes. Seven people worked hard to catch me, they did, so I go to jail... That's the rules, and I play by them... Even if those seven did get there late."

He was found guilty on all charges, and given the death sentence. His wife was given ten years in prison.

It wasn't easy for the victims of it all to show up and testify, especially Summer, who, being a child, didn't quite uderstand why she had to. She, like the others had just gotten over the worst of her nightmares. Talking about what happened, and seeing the man again was sure to send them into new boughts of bad dreams.

But at least they got the guy. He wasn't going to do anymore of his sick little lessons. That was certain.

---------------------

Dealing with the nightmares was the worst part. Beth, despite her constant claims to Greg that she was fine, still had trouble falling asleep at night... still kept remembering the laughs of those men as they raped her. Even remembering brought her close to tears, but she hid them in front of Greg. She'd worked hard to convince him that she wasn't going to break, and that she didn't need coddling, and she'd be damned if he was to find out how badly everything had affected her.

Instead of starting up the old argument with Greg, she got a night job, as Susan had months ago, so they were on the same schedule. It was working out fine, for now. It was hard to adjust to the change, at first, but she managed. Sleeping during the day was easier than sleeping at night anyway. The dark was something she no longer liked. But that was beside the point. 

Really, all Beth wanted was to stop waking up in the middle of the, well, day, but night was more familiar to say, drenched in sweat from bad dreams. She knew that after a few times, Greg stopped believing her when she said she was alright, and she was almost glad of it. Because if he knew she was still having nightmares, he could comfort her. And that always banished the dreams...even if it was only for a little while.

--------------------

Susan also had the same problem, but unlike Beth, she didn't try to hide it from her future husband. But then, he wasn't like Greg, who would bombarde her with questions. She was getting alot of practice drawing at least... But the drawings were being put where she'd never see them again, hopefully. And besides, she had other things to worry about, than her nightmares. She had a wedding to plan. Wasn't going to be anything special, that was for sure. When one of her and Nick's friends had asked, both had scoffed and said "On my salary?" at the same time.

The worst of the dreams, however, even cast a shadow over the wedding plans... The one where that man... Eli Shaun... showed up. He didn't do anything to anyone... It was the way that he simply stared at her and Nick that made it worse than the others. That calm, calculating, unfeeling stare that he'd used on her, Lindsay, Beth, and Summer in the courtroom. His wife's stare was just as bad... To think she, according to Catherine, had been one of Lindsay's favorite teachers. 

But, maybe she was as good at hiding her true colors as her husband was, as there had been several people at the trial that said over and over again that he was a kind man, who wouldn't harm a fly... Even after hearing seven people say they saw him torturing a woman. Just goes to show how blind some people can really be... Ridiculous.

--------------------

Lindsay didn't hardly sleep, otherwise, she might have had as bad a time as Beth, and Susan. She was always reading, keeping up with her studying, since she had gotten accepted in one of the several colleges she'd applied to. The night she'd gotten the latter, had been a fun one. She and her parents had gone out for dinner, and had run into Greg, and Beth. Greg could always make just about anyone laugh, even a recently traumatized teen.

Too bad it had been spoiled the next day, by the trial. At least her part in that was over fairly quick. That was a plus. But it still didn't stop it from spoiling the fun she'd had the night before... She'd just gotten to where she could sleep properly again, too.

Oh well, that was life... and she still had plenty of time before school to stop waking up, stifling screams. At least, she hoped it was enough time. She didn't want anyone thinking she was crazy. Her mom was of some help, in comforting her, when she woke up like that, as was her dad, well stepdad, though it didn't really matter if it was by blood or not, Warrick Brown was her dad.

--------------------

Summer had a harder time than the others, being a child. She pointedly slept facing towards the closet, as if to keep an eye on it... When she slept in her room, that was. Most times, after being in there for a few hours, and trying to get to sleep, or after getting to sleep, and having a nightmare, she would go to her parents room, and crawl into bed with them. The times when she walked in on certain activities, she would go back to her own room, turn on the lamp, and lie awake all night. Or she would wait until said activies were over, take a pillow, and blanket, and sleep on the floor. (she knew better than to crawl in with them after that.)

Every night she slept in her parents room, she expected them to scold her, or tell her she needed to stay in her own room. She even thought her father considered it once, but her mother had just given him one of her 'don't bother' looks, and he hadn't said anything. Summer'd stop eventually, she'd make herself. But for now, she didn't want to be separated from her mom and dad for too long. Even went so far as to ask if she could go to work with them. They had let her once, but she'd gotten kinda bored, so she'd opted to stay home from then on.

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	11. Epilouge: Christmas

Final Chap. Enjoy it. 

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Chapter Eleven/Epilogue: Christmas

Everyone made sure that they had Christmas day off, though it was something they normally did anyway. But this time, they spent the day together, at Grissom and Sara's place, as it was the only one big enough to hold twelve people, without being TOO crowded. Summer was happy to play the little hostess, toting around the tiny kitten her parents had permitted her to keep, after, she claimed anyway, it had shown up in the yard. Its name? Grasshopper (The only one Summer even considered, much to Grissom's amusement.) The name only made Sara even more certain that Summer was going to be an Entomoligist. 

By that point, Nick and Susan were married, and happily so. It, as they had wanted, had been a small ceremony, thought not too small. Since neither had any family near enough to make it, their friends had made up for it, by making sure that they showed up. Grissom had actually gotten them something... A book, no less. But what really made it amusing was his use of crime scene tape as a bow. Typical. Lindsay had been a bridesmaid, as had Beth, and Summer the flower girl (an honor she still bragged about). It had been quite the occaision. 

Even Brass wasn't able to keep from enjoying Christmas day. The happiness was contagious, he'd told Greg, who was acting as goofy as the kid was. Although, he wasn't too bad off to begin with. He, like the others had recovered for the most part. Besides, who could stay unhappy when you worked with a crazy a bunch as Las Vegas CSI nightshift? He talked, and joked with everyone, and told Sofia that the next time someone came in, trying to file charges for a broken fingernail, she got to handle it. (That had been a tiresome night, that was for sure). She had only laughed, and told him that was a once-in-a-lifetime case. To which he'd responded. "This is Vegas, Sofia... It'll happen again."

Lindsay got the chance to scold her parents for over doing things, when she saw all of the gifts for her. They only told her that she deserved a little spoiling. She didn't agree ( well, okay, she did, a little...) She sat on the floor, with Greg and Beth, laughing at something Susan had said. She nearly had a heart attack when the kitten, Grasshopper, lept on her head... Everyone else got a good laugh out of it. Personally, she was beginning to think the cat was evil. He had done nothing but attack her fingers, feet, and hair all day... When he wasn't trying to escape Summer, anyway, who knew if he got loose he'd cause problems. Grissom had leaned down from the couch once, to tell her that she wasn't the only one the cat was constantly after, it seemed only his young mistress escaped his claws and teeth.

Beth had felt kind of akward at first, as she didn't know everyone as well as say, Susan did, nor was she as comfortable getting to know people as Lindsay was. But she warmed up to them after an hour or so, and joined in the joking and laughing. She sat on the floor, around the tree, with Greg and Lindsay, laughing at the attention Lindsay was getting from the cat, and at Brass and Sofia's banter. Things were alot better, now, when she was with people she knew she could trust. While in their company anyway, she didn't jump at every little shadow. She accepted a glass of eggnog from Sara, and nodded in thanks, as did everyone else, whom already had theirs. What was Christmas without eggnog? She said as much, and got a reply from Warrick.

"No Christmas at all!" he added, "It wouldn't be Christmas without some good music, either." He was referring to the music that Greg had brought; several Trans Siberian Orchestra CDs.

"Or presents!" Summer chimed in, "Right?"

"Right you are, Sweetie," said Catherine, with a grin. "Wouldn't be Christmas without the presents."

"Or a cat in a stocking," said Sofia, pointing to the moving blue velvet stocking on the floor, with the silver tail, and rear end sticking out of it.

The kitten was trying to get to the bottom of it, and was only succeeding in skidding across the hardwood floor. Giggling, Summer grabbed the stocking, sending the cat straight to the bottom. She hung it on the arm of a chair, much to Grasshopper's dismay, as he now couldn't scoot it across the floor, nor could he get out, without leaping, which he eventually did.

When the time for present opening rolled around, no one was displeased. Gifts had been chosen carefully, to make sure that the ones they were for would appreciate them. It was Susan though, that had the biggest surprise of them all. Once everyone was done oogling over their gifts she raised her glass of eggnog, and got everyone's attention. She shoved herself out of her chair, and waited to speak, until she was steady on her feet again.

"Well, I figured t'day is as good a day as any t' say this. Thought i' might be a nice Christmas surprise for Nicky. Come, ooohhhh, say Agust-ish, or there-abouts, Nick here is gonna have someone to call him 'daddy'... I'm pregnant."

Nick, whom had tipped back his glass of eggnog to finish it all off in one go, suddenly emitted a sound that bore a strange resemblance to a cat hacking up a hairball, and the eggnog came spewing back into the glass, (some of it, Brass was pretty sure, by way of his nose). He coughed for a moment, as Beth pounded on his back, while everyone else chuckled over it.

"Ya okay there, Hon," said Susan, with a gleeful smile, "Lookin' a little blue..."

"Cuz I can't breathe," Nick said, once he had stopped coughing. Then he smiled, grabbed Susan and pulled her down onto his chair with him, "Next time you want to give us great news, wait till I'm not drinking anything."

"Wait till he's eating next time," Sara chimed in, "What I did to Griss... Granted I didn't know he was eating at the time but, it was still funny."

"Maybe for you," Both Grissom and Nick said. Nick continued with, "I have no desire to choke and die, before my kids're born, thanks." He looked down at Summer, Lindsay, and Greg, who looked as if they were about to explode, "Go ahead, laugh." They happily obliged.

"Well, here's to the soon-to-be parents," said Sofia, raising her glass, "congratulations!"

"Just you wait, Nicky," said Grissom, "You're going to lose any and all sleep once the baby's born." He glanced towards Summer, "And then there's the monsters under the bed, and in the closet to get rid of." The cat, whom Summer had recently grabbed hold of, suddenly landed on his head. Summer put on her most innocent look, and said, "It was an accident."

Rubbing his head, Grissom only sighed, while Sara said, "Accident my ass, Kid," she smirked, "Nice shot, though."

"Don't encourage her," said Catherine.

"Thank you, Catherine," said Grissom. 

Nick was laughing, "I think I'll take my chances Griss, thanks."

Brass was the one to look at his watch, "Getting kind of late guys."

Sofia nodded, "Yeah, it is. So who else is working tomorrow night?"

Hands all around went up. Greg sighed, "Alright... Suppose we better scat then... Funny, been sitting around all day, and I'm still more tired than I am after a night of work."

"That's what happens when you get so used to working," said Susan, "When you finally get a day off, and get to relax, your brain tries to shut down, making you think your tired."

"Save us the science lesson, Honey," said Nick, "That's what Grissom's for." This comment earned him a slightly scathing look from his boss, which he purposefully ignored.

"I don't care what it is," said Beth with yawn, "I'm ready to pass out."

"Join the club," Warrick and Catherine chorused. Lindsay got to her feet, along with Greg, and Beth, and stretched, popping several bones in the process.

As everyone said goodnight, and left, group by group, the hosts realized how tired they were as well. Maybe it was time for bed after all. It had certainly been a good Christmas day, seemed nothing had gone wrong...

_Never mind... _Grissom thought, as the sound of shattering glass, splashing water, and a pitiful yowl came from the kitchen, _clean up time... Or maybe I'll let Sara... she's the one who let the kid keep that monster..._

END

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And, there shall be a sequel to this! Here's a preview of the first chap:

EYE SEE YOU CHAP ONE PREVIEW

_Chapter One: Murders_

Horatio Caine sat at his desk pondering just what the hell was going on. Four murders in as many days, all done in the same fashion. They had a serial killer on their hands, that much was for sure. He leaned back in his chair, and thought of what might be the pattern for the guy. He hadn't really had time to think on it, with a murder occuring every day.

Victim one: Jacklynne Myles. Female. Fourteen years old. Gun shot wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

Victim two: Edward "Eddie" Clark. Fourteen years old. Gun shot Wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

Victim three: Marie Dibbins. Fourteen years old. Gun shot wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

Victim four: Mike Dibbins. Fourteen years old. Marie's Twin. Gun shot wound to the chest. Eyes glued open.

So, their guy went for fourteen year olds, boy or girl. There had been evidence of sexual assault on the girls, and just plain beatings on the boys. There had been an odd substance in and around their eyes, that somehow still hadn't been run. But then, the lab was kind of backed up nowadays, with so many cases... Their eyes! That was it! Every one of the teens had green eyes. Maybe that was a coincidence, but Horatio doubted it. So... their killer went after teenagers, with green eyes. Assaulted the girls, beat the boys, rubbed whatever it was in their eyes, shot them, then glued the eyes open... But why? Why the eyes?

That was something whoever had done this would tell him himself. 

Yes, the Las Vegas crew shall be in it... Horatio and Calliegh will be joining them.

Look for "Eye See You", soon.


End file.
